Resource rent in the Norwegian aquaculture industry : a bottom-up approach

Abstract

This thesis investigates the generation of resource rent in the Norwegian aquaculture industry during 2010-2017. Whereas past empirical research on resource rent assumes that the license holder captures the entire rent, this thesis analyzes rent by also allowing for rent generation in other parts of the value chain. I develop an appropriate model based on a standard definition of economic profit from the economic literature. Using firm-specific accounting data on more than seven hundred companies from 2010 to 2017, I find that the industry generates substantial resource rent. Specifically, the results indicate a total resource rent of NOK 74.9 billion over the period, where 70.5 accrues to the license holders, and the remaining 4.4 billion accrues to other parts of the value chain (floating prices). License holders benefit greatly from exclusive access to high-quality natural resources, whereas the remaining parts of the value chain profits from a strong demand for goods and services, mostly driven by biological challenges in the farming operations.