Weakness of Ricardian theory of rent
- It is assumed that rent is the payment for the use of the original value of the soil. However, it is difficult to determine which values of the land are original and which ones are as a result of human actions.
- The best land is not always cultivated first as assumed in theory i.e. In most cases it is the inferior land which is cultivated first because it is easily manageable
- It is scarcity and not fertility of land which causes the emergence of rent.
- In the real world, there is no land, which does not earn rent.
- The law of diminishing returns can be controlled through technological and organizational improvements, the law of diminishing returns can be offset,
- The theory tends to assume a perfectly competitive situation which is unrealistic since it does not exist anywhere in the real world.
- In the theory, rent only arises in a long run when all the good land have been used. However, in the real situation, rent also arises in the short run.
- Rent is not a payment for the use of land only because the other factors can also earn rent.