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Bribery and Favoritism by Auctioneers in Sealed-Bid Auctions

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Author Info
Roberto Burguet (Institute for Economic Analysis (CSIC))
Martin Perry (Rutgers University)

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Abstract

We consider a model of bribery in an asymmetric procurement auction. In return for a bribe from the dishonest supplier, the auctioneer has the discretion to allow this supplier to revise his bid downward to match the low bid of the honest supplier. The dishonest supplier can also win the contract outright without paying a bribe by bidding below the honest supplier. We investigate the effect of the bribe share and the cost distributions on the bidding functions, the allocative distortion, and the expected price paid by the buyer. The dishonest supplier bids more aggressively to win the contract outright when the auctioneer takes a larger bribe share. Bribery and the implied right of first refusal introduce a new allocative distortion in favor of the dishonest supplier. Finally, we use the power family of cost distributions to examine the expected price paid by the buyer. When the dishonest supplier has a more favorable cost distribution, there exist bribe shares sufficiently large such that the expected price paid by the buyer can actually decline as a result of bribery.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Berkeley Electronic Press in its journal Contributions to Theoretical Economics.

Volume (Year): 7 (2007)
Issue (Month): 1 ()
Pages: 1219-1219
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Handle: RePEc:bep:thecon:v:7:y:2007:i:1:p:1219-1219

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Related research
Keywords: bribery favoritism auctions

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D44 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure and Pricing - - - Auctions

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Rasmusen, Eric & Ramseyer, J Mark, 1994. " Cheap Bribes and the Corruption Ban: A Coordination Game among Rational Legislators," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 78(3-4), pages 305-27, March.
  2. Marshall Robert C. & Meurer Michael J. & Richard Jean-Francois & Stromquist Walter, 1994. "Numerical Analysis of Asymmetric First Price Auctions," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 193-220, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Lebrun, Bernard, 1999. "First Price Auctions in the Asymmetric N Bidder Case," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 40(1), pages 125-42, February.
  4. McAfee, R. Preston & McMillan, John, 1989. "Government procurement and international trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3-4), pages 291-308, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Laffont, Jean-Jacques & Tirole, Jean, 1991. "Auction design and favoritism," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 9-42, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Yvan Lengwiler & Elmar Wolfstetter, 2000. "Auctions and Corruption," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo GmbH. [Downloadable!]
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  7. Lien, Da-Hsiang Donald, 1986. "A note on competitive bribery games," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 337-341. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Federico Weinschelbaum & Leandro Arozamena, 2004. "The Effect of Corruption on Bidding Behavior in First-Price Auctions," Econometric Society 2004 Latin American Meetings 180, Econometric Society. [Downloadable!]
  9. Allan Ingraham, 2005. "A Test for Collusion between a Bidder and an Auctioneer in Sealed-Bid Auctions," Contributions to Economic Analysis & Policy, Berkeley Electronic Press, vol. 4(1), pages 1448-1448. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Marco Celentani & Juan J. Ganuza, 2000. "Corruption and Competition in Procurement," Economics Working Papers 464, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Mar 2001. [Downloadable!]
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  11. Compte, O. & Lambert-Mogiliansky, A. & Verdier, T., 2000. "Corruption and Competition in Public Market Auctions," DELTA Working Papers 2000-01, DELTA (Ecole normale supérieure).
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  12. Waehrer, Keith & Perry, Martin K, 2003. " The Effects of Mergers in Open-Auction Markets," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 34(2), pages 287-304, Summer.
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  13. Waehrer, Keith, 1999. "Asymmetric private values auctions with application to joint bidding and mergers," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 437-452, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Rose-Ackerman, Susan, 1975. "The economics of corruption," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 187-203, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Yvan Lengwiler & Elmar Wolfstetter, 2005. "Bid Rigging. An Analysis of Corruption in Auctions," Discussion Papers 39, SFB/TR 15 Governance and the Efficiency of Economic Systems, Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Bonn, University of Mannheim, University of Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Leonardo Rezende, 2009. "Biased procurement auctions," Economic Theory, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 169-185, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. René Kirkegaard, 2007. "Comparative Statics and Welfare in Heterogeneous Contests: Bribes, Caps, and Performance Thresholds," Working Papers 0702, Brock University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  4. Keith Waehrer & Martin Perry, 2002. "The Effects of Mergers in Open Auction Markets," Departmental Working Papers 200203, Rutgers University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Federico Weinschelbaum & Leandro Arozamena, 2004. "The Effect of Corruption on Bidding Behavior in First-Price Auctions," Econometric Society 2004 Latin American Meetings 180, Econometric Society. [Downloadable!]
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