Rentier state
Etymology
From the French "rentier," one who lives on unearned income or rent, from "rente." The concept was developed by the economist Hossein Mahdavy in 1970 to describe pre-revolution Iran, and became central to explaining the politics of oil-exporting states.
noun phrase · /RAHN-tyay STAYT/
A state that funds itself mainly from external rents, such as oil revenue, rather than from taxing its own people.
What it names
A tool for explaining why resource-rich governments are often unaccountable — when the state pays the citizens instead of the reverse, the usual pressure to answer to taxpayers evaporates.
Example
In a classic rentier state, generous handouts and no income tax buy political quiet, since citizens who pay nothing demand little in return.
Related idea
Names the political structure behind the economic "resource curse"; a rentier state is why sudden mineral wealth can entrench autocracy rather than fund broad prosperity.
See also