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The Menu-Size Complexity of Auctions

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  • Sergiu Hart
  • Noam Nisan

Abstract

We consider the menu size of auctions as a measure of auction complexity and study how it affects revenue. Our setting has a single revenue-maximizing seller selling two or more heterogenous items to a single buyer whose private values for the items are drawn from a (possibly correlated) known distribution, and whose valuation is additive over the items. We show that the revenue may increase arbitrarily with menu size and that a bounded menu size can not ensure any positive fraction of the optimal revenue. The menu size turns out to "nail down" the revenue properties of deterministic auctions: their menu size may be at most exponential in the number of items and indeed their revenue may be larger than that achievable by the simplest types of auctions by a factor that is exponential in the number of items but no larger. Our model is related to a previously studied "unit-demand" model and our results also answer an open problem in that model.

Suggested Citation

  • Sergiu Hart & Noam Nisan, 2013. "The Menu-Size Complexity of Auctions," Discussion Paper Series dp637, The Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
    • Handle: RePEc:huj:dispap:dp637
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Hanzhe, 2021. "The optimal sequence of prices and auctions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    2. Chen, Xi & Diakonikolas, Ilias & Paparas, Dimitris & Sun, Xiaorui & Yannakakis, Mihalis, 2018. "The complexity of optimal multidimensional pricing for a unit-demand buyer," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 139-164.
    3. Hart, Sergiu & Nisan, Noam, 2017. "Approximate revenue maximization with multiple items," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 313-347.
    4. Tang, Pingzhong & Wang, Zihe, 2017. "Optimal mechanisms with simple menus," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 54-70.
    5. Gagan Aggarwal & Kshipra Bhawalkar & Guru Guruganesh & Andres Perlroth, 2021. "Maximizing revenue in the presence of intermediaries," Papers 2111.10472, arXiv.org.
    6. Tomer Siedner, 2019. "Optimal pricing by a risk-averse seller," Discussion Paper Series dp725, The Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
    7. Tomoya Kazumura & Debasis Mishra & Shigehiro Serizawa, 2017. "Strategy-proof multi-object auction design: Ex-post revenue maximization with no wastage," Discussion Papers 17-03, Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi.
    8. Tomoya Kazumura & Debasis Mishra & Shigehiro Serizawa, 2017. "Strategy-proof multi-object allocation: Ex-post revenue maximization with no wastage," Working Papers e116, Tokyo Center for Economic Research.
    9. Babaioff, Moshe & Gonczarowski, Yannai A. & Nisan, Noam, 2022. "The menu-size complexity of revenue approximation," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 281-307.
    10. Azar, Pablo D. & Kleinberg, Robert & Weinberg, S. Matthew, 2019. "Prior independent mechanisms via prophet inequalities with limited information," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 511-532.
    11. Sergiu Hart & Philip J. Reny, 2017. "The Better Half of Selling Separately," Discussion Paper Series dp712, The Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
    12. Yeon-Koo Che & Weijie Zhong, 2021. "Robustly Optimal Mechanisms for Selling Multiple Goods," Papers 2105.02828, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2024.
    13. Hartline, Jason D. & Kleinberg, Robert & Malekian, Azarakhsh, 2015. "Bayesian incentive compatibility via matchings," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 401-429.
    14. Alon Eden & Michal Feldman & Ophir Friedler & Inbal Talgam-Cohen & S. Matthew Weinberg, 2021. "A Simple and Approximately Optimal Mechanism for a Buyer with Complements," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 69(1), pages 188-206, January.
    15. Tomoya Kazumura & Debasis Mishra & Shigehiro Serizawa, 2017. "Strategy-proof multi-object auction design: Ex-post revenue maximization with no wastage," ISER Discussion Paper 1001, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University.
    16. Banghua Zhu & Stephen Bates & Zhuoran Yang & Yixin Wang & Jiantao Jiao & Michael I. Jordan, 2022. "The Sample Complexity of Online Contract Design," Papers 2211.05732, arXiv.org, revised May 2023.
    17. Devanur, Nikhil R. & Haghpanah, Nima & Psomas, Alexandros, 2020. "Optimal multi-unit mechanisms with private demands," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 482-505.

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