This collection brings together the classic papers on the economics of rent seeking. These papers date from Gordon Tullock's original 1967 paper which first put forth the idea that the pursuit of transfers was socially costly. Other classic papers by Anne Krueger and Richard Posner are included, as well as a series of more recent papers which trace the evolution of the literature on this important innovation in economic theory.

The Cato Institute, a public policy research foundation in Washington, D.C., presents the full text of an article entitled "Rent Seeking and Economic Growth: Evidence from the States," written by Harold J. Brumm. The article was published in the Spring/Summer 1999 issue of "The Cato Journal." The author discusses the extent to which economic growth is affected by rent seeking, particularly data related to the issue for the 48 contiguous states. The study finds the real gross state product (GSP) per capita to be negatively correlated with the initial level of real GSP per capita, the burden of state tax structure, and the level of rent-seeking activity in the state.