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Why Every Economist Should Learn Some Auction Theory

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  • Paul Klemperer

    (Nuffield College Oxford University)

Abstract

This is an Invited paper for the World Congress of the Econometric Society held in Seattle in August 2000. We discuss the strong connections between auction theory and "standard" economic theory, and argue that auction-theoretic tools and intuitions can provide useful arguments and insights in a broad range of mainstream economic settings that do not, at first sight, look like auctions. We also discuss some more obvious applications, especially to industrial organization.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Klemperer, 2000. "Why Every Economist Should Learn Some Auction Theory," Microeconomics 0004009, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpmi:0004009
    Note: Type of Document - pdf; prepared on PC; pages: 51; figures: included
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Olivier Armantier & Erwann SbaÏ, 2006. "Estimation and comparison of treasury auction formats when bidders are asymmetric," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(6), pages 745-779, September.
    2. Klemperer, Paul, 2002. "How (not) to run auctions: The European 3G telecom auctions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(4-5), pages 829-845, May.
    3. Alexia Gaudeul, 2009. "A (Micro) Course in Microeconomic Theory for MSc Students," Working Papers id:1986, eSocialSciences.
    4. Boone, Jan, 2002. "'Be Nice, Unless it Pays to Fight': A New Theory of Price Determination with Implications for Competition Policy," CEPR Discussion Papers 3342, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Paul Klemperer, 2002. "What Really Matters in Auction Design," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(1), pages 169-189, Winter.
    6. Boone, J., 2002. "'Be Nice Unless it Pays to Fight' : A New Theory of Price Determination with Implications for Competition Policy," Other publications TiSEM 739723a0-ffec-49c9-bef8-7, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    7. Natalia Fabra & Nils‐Henrik Fehr & David Harbord, 2006. "Designing electricity auctions," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 37(1), pages 23-46, March.
    8. Klemperer, Paul, 2002. "Some Observations on the British and German 3G Telecom Auctions," CEPR Discussion Papers 3605, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Luca Lambertini & Manuela Mosca, 2014. "The Bertrand Paradox, the Useless Auctioneer and the Launhardt Model," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3-4), pages 170-183, December.
    10. Boone, J., 2003. "'Be nice, unless it pays to fight' : A new theory of price determination with implications for competition policy," Other publications TiSEM 7066cb71-3c22-4565-8c71-5, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    11. Stenborg, Markku, 2003. "Waiting for F/OSS: Coordinating the Production of Free/Open Source Software," Discussion Papers 884, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    12. Uður Emek, 2002. "The Role of Auction Design in Awarding Spectrum," Game Theory and Information 0209001, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Axel Ockenfels, 2002. "New Institutional Structures on the Internet: The Economic Design of Online Auctions," Papers on Strategic Interaction 2002-08, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Strategic Interaction Group.
    14. Daniel A. Benitez, 2004. "On Quantity Competition and Transmission Constraints in Electricity Market," Econometric Society 2004 Latin American Meetings 98, Econometric Society.
    15. Jääskeläinen, Jan & Tukiainen, Janne, 2019. "Anatomy of public procurement," Working Papers 118, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    16. Ali Hortacsu & Steven L. Puller, 2005. "Understanding Strategic Bidding in Restructured Electricity Markets: A Case Study of ERCOT," NBER Working Papers 11123, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Martin Bichler & Nils Kohring & Stefan Heidekrüger, 2023. "Learning Equilibria in Asymmetric Auction Games," INFORMS Journal on Computing, INFORMS, vol. 35(3), pages 523-542, May.
    18. Satoru Fujishige & Zaifu Yang, 2020. "A Universal Dynamic Auction for Unimodular Demand Types: An Efficient Auction Design for Various Kinds of Indivisible Commodities," Discussion Papers 20/08, Department of Economics, University of York.
    19. Enrique Guerra-Pujol, 2015. "The Poker-Litigation Game," Papers 1509.01214, arXiv.org.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Auctions; Bidding; Auction Theory; Private Values; Common Values; Mechanism Design; Litigation; Stock Markets; Queues; Financial Crashes; Brand Loyalty; War of Attrition; Bertrand; Perfect Competition; E-Commerce; Spectrum Auctions; Treasury Auctions; Electricity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C7 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory
    • D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty
    • L - Industrial Organization
    • A - General Economics and Teaching
    • G - Financial Economics
    • K - Law and Economics
    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics
    • D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making
    • H - Public Economics
    • C9 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments
    • J - Labor and Demographic Economics

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