[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN_kt97w7Wg&rel=0&egm=0&showinfo=0&fs=1]
How to sell a dollar for more than a dollar. Exhibiting a little game theory, this professor shows how “all pay auction” games can lead the actors to pay more than a dollar for a dollar.
I think this may also come into play when states deal with the federal government.
Political lobbying explained through the example of all-pay auctions (via davidzet)