Rent Seeking

Race Day Payoff (5/8/2003)

Because of their scarcity value, prizes often induce wasteful resource expenditures among competitors that collectively may exceed the face value of the prizes.

Keywords: bet, car race, prize, rent, rent seeking, wager

The Logic of Collective Action (12/21/2001)

Narrow special interests are often more politically powerful because they are easier to organize and the benefits of membership exceed the cost of participation.

Keywords: collective action, consumer lobbies, free rider, free-ridership, group membership, import quotas, organization costs, participation, pluralism, producer lobby, special interests, tariffs, trade protection