Rentier regimes and the Régulation Theory

Economic theory has been interested from its origins in the severe issues that result from rent, deciphering the ways by which the latter prevent or delay economic development. Several economies in the world heavily depend on rent for their growth regimes. ‘Rentier regimes' can be defined as export-led structural growth models of economies that rest primarily on rent as external extra revenue. Using the theoretical framework of the Régulation Theory (RT), this chapter will examine the rentier regime as a specific accumulation regime. RT provides, inter alia, an analytic grid able to shed light on the particular configuration of key socioeconomic institutions, which often accompanies rentier regimes. It also presents the variety of rentier regimes that currently exist in an attempt to contribute to comparative studies of capitalism. The chapter ends by exemplifying this comparison, proposing RT-based comparative insights into three different national rentier regimes: Norway, Saudi Arabia and Russia.