The Rent Seeking Society Revisited: An extensive overview

Abstract

This article aims to serve as an introduction to the main theoretical framework concerning the economic and political phenomena of rent-seeking, which entails a dynamic ensemble of market entities that wish to alter its configuration by institutional means such as lobbying or import tariffs. The main contribution of this theoretical approach is that it has resurged the research interests of economists regarding the true social costs of this type of activity, which, prior to Tullock’s (1967) insights, have been widely considered as uncontrollable side effects of market failures and externalities, while simultaneously diminishing the role government plays in this complex institutional exchange.