You have been asked by a popular blog to write an article about the concept of rent-seeking. The editors assure you that regular readers of the blog will have never before thought about the concept of rent-seeking and how it works in real life, so you must clearly define terms and concisely illustrate concepts using examples.

Assignment

Use the resources provided to explain the concept of rent-seeking and use the Folsom book chapter about Vanderbilt and the early history of the steamship industry in the U.S. to illustrate and explain how rent-seeking works in real life--and why rent-seeking matters for the prosperity of an economy.