Economics of Lobbying
I was familiar with the dynamics of the all-pay auction (I always called it the Wargames auction -- the only winning move is not to play). I had never thought of it as a good analog for lobbying expenditures, but it makes a lot of sense once David Zetland made the point. Good video at the link.
ElamBend:
the link is bad
November 2, 2009, 11:32 ameddie:
This is probably what he's referring to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN_kt97w7Wg
November 2, 2009, 11:47 amfeeblemind:
My PC concurs with Elam Bend: Invalid url.
November 2, 2009, 12:26 pmRolo Tomasi:
Here is the link:
http://aguanomics.com/2009/11/political-economy-of-lobbying.html
November 2, 2009, 1:41 pmDrTorch:
I was unfamiliar w/ this all-pay auction concept. Interesting. The analogy to lobbying makes complete sense.
Moreover, here's info on people trying to make money on the concept
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/an-all-pay-auction/
November 2, 2009, 2:15 pmLoneSnark:
EconTalk did an entire podcast with Mike Munger on how this type of auction relates to government attempts at giving away free money.
November 3, 2009, 12:26 pmDavid Zetland:
@LoneSnark -- thanks for the x-ref. I added it (plus more comments) to this post: http://aguanomics.com/2009/11/more-on-lobbying-and-rent-seeking.html
@All -- yes, you got the right link :)
November 4, 2009, 11:31 am