In the field of economics and finance, there are several types of agents.
An agent is someone who has the power to act , according to the definition provided by the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) . The term, which has its origin in the Latin word agens , can be used to name the person who acts with the power of another .
In this sense, the agent can be a representative who acts on behalf of his client. People who manage the careers of athletes and artists and are in charge of negotiating their contracts are known as agents. For example: «The club has met with the Brazilian striker's agent to define the amount of the operation» , «The singer's agent announced the cancellation of tonight's concert due to the artist's health problems» , «The actor assured that he will never work with an agent since he prefers to define the matters of his career on his own» .
Agent in the economic field
In economics and finance , an agent is someone who has an office (agency) to provide certain services or to manage other people's affairs. It is common for an agent, also known as a broker , to be the intermediary between a seller and a buyer, charging a commission on each transaction. It is possible to speak of a stockbroker, an insurance agent, etc.
However, we must not overlook the existence of what is known as a commercial agent . This is a person who works for a company in question and who is dedicated to achieving the sale of certain products of that company by going directly to businesses and establishments that may be interested in the aforementioned. When managing to close sales in this sense, what he will do is collect commissions.
A police officer is a person who lacks a rank.
The term in the field of security
For certain security forces (such as the police ), an agent is an individual without a rank : "The thief was preparing to escape from the business when he was caught by an agent who was passing by the block" , "An agent observed me crossing a red light and fined me" .
In relation to the forces and security bodies of a state, we should also highlight that there are many other types of agents. Thus, we find, for example, the special agent , who is the one in charge of investigating in a very specific area of the country to which he belongs.
Secret Agent
But there is also the secret agent who is the one who carries out investigative functions in an undercover manner. In other words, we could say that he is a spy who is basically in charge of uncovering plots and all kinds of secrets that could seriously endanger the integrity of any nation from very different points of view.
The world of cinema, television and literature has developed important stories around characters of this type, special and secret agents. Among them we could highlight James Bond, better known as 007; Bourne, the super agent 86, Charlie's Angels, or the famous agents from the series The X-Files: Mulder and Scully, who were dedicated to investigating cases related to beings from other planets.
In grammar , finally, agent is the word or expression that designates the subject that performs the action of the verb.