222 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 
of facilities for communication, and the general pros- 
perity which is a resultant of this. These three elements 
together constitute rent as that word is used in current 
speech. The departure from this use of so common a 
term would give rise only to confusion, and therefore 
we accept the current use. From this point of view 
rent in part must be included in our estimate of cost 
of production—in fact, it is a very vital part of it; for 
in New Zealand the price of land has reached a relatively 
high level, and the farmer, desirous of obtaining land 
near a large centre, finds this a serious obstacle to over- 
come. With highly improved land as dear as £40 per 
acre, and very often dearer, it is at once obvious that 
not a little of gross receipts goes in the form of rent.* 
4. The Difficulties of the Problem. 
Having cleared up these initial difficulties, we are 
ready now to proceed directly with our investigation. 
But before doing so, it will be well to point out a few 
of the difficulties which will be encountered, and which 
will probably affect our result, though not wholly destroy 
its efficacy for the purpose for which it is being devised. 
In the first place, there is the obstacle arising from 
the lack of reliable data—not an uncommon obstacle in 
*This high price is due to several factors, all of which tend 
to augment rent as that term is used in current language. In 
the first place, there is the payment for capital invested in 
improvements, an element which is of great importance in New 
Zealand. Secondly, there is the increase in value due to general 
progress in communication and transportation facilities, and 
the increase of population, which gives to good lands a scarcity 
value, Thirdly, the anticipation of profit from a given line 
of action increases the price of land, and rent often includes 
interest on the additional capital invested in the land on this 
account. Finally, all super-marginal lands have a high value 
owing to differential advantages in production, due to either 
superior fertility or more convenient situation. This gives rise 
to pure economic rent, which, while entering into price, is itself 
governed by conditions which determine price, and is really a 
phenomenon of high price. 
