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Creating competition out of thin air: An experimental study of right-to-choose auctions

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  • Eliaz, Kfir
  • Offerman, Theo
  • Schotter, Andrew

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental study of a mechanism that is commonly used to sell multiple heterogeneous goods. The novel feature of this procedure is that instead of selling each good in a separate auction, the seller executes a single auction in which buyers, who may be interested in completely different goods, compete for the right to choose a good. We provide experimental evidence that a Right-to-Choose (RTC) auction can generate more revenue than the theoretically optimal auction. Moreover, in contrast to the "optimal" auction, the RTC auction is approximately efficient in the sense that the surplus it generates is close to the maximal one. Furthermore, a seller who would like to retain some of his goods can generate more revenue with a restricted RTC auction in which not all rights-to-choose are sold, than with the theoretically optimal auction.

Suggested Citation

  • Eliaz, Kfir & Offerman, Theo & Schotter, Andrew, 2008. "Creating competition out of thin air: An experimental study of right-to-choose auctions," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 383-416, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:gamebe:v:62:y:2008:i:2:p:383-416
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jacob K. Goeree & Charles R. Plott & John Wooders, 2004. "Bidders' Choice Auctions: Raising Revenues Through the Right to Choose," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 2(2-3), pages 504-515, 04/05.
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    Cited by:

    1. Anouar El Haji & Sander Onderstal, 2019. "Trading places: An experimental comparison of reallocation mechanisms for priority queuing," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 670-686, November.
    2. Alevy, Jonathan E. & Cristi, Oscar & Melo, Oscar, 2010. "Right-to-Choose Auctions: A Field Study of Water Markets in the Limari Valley of Chile," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 39(2), pages 1-14, April.
    3. Ulrike Malmendier & Young Han Lee, 2011. "The Bidder's Curse," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(2), pages 749-787, April.
    4. Ronald M. Harstad, 2007. "Does a Seller Really Want Another Bidder?," Working Papers 0711, Department of Economics, University of Missouri.
    5. Sandro Brusco & Giuseppe Lopomo & Leslie M. Marx, 2011. "The Economics of Contingent Re-auctions," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 165-193, May.
    6. Maarten C. W. Janssen & Vladimir A. Karamychev & Emiel Maasland, 2010. "Simultaneous Pooled Auctions with Multiple Bids and Preference Lists," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 166(2), pages 286-298, June.
    7. Ronald M. Harstad, 2010. "Auctioning the Right to Choose When Competition Persists," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 7(1), pages 78-85, March.
    8. Jonathan E. Alevy & Julianna Butler & Michael Price, 2016. "Multi-good Demand in Bidder's Choice Auctions: Experimental Evidence from the Lab and the Field," Working Papers 2016-01, University of Alaska Anchorage, Department of Economics.
    9. Anthony M. Kwasnica & Katerina Sherstyuk, 2013. "Multiunit Auctions," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 461-490, July.
    10. Boğaçhan Çelen & Erkut Özbay, 2012. "Introduction to a festschrift for Andrew Schotter," Review of Economic Design, Springer;Society for Economic Design, vol. 16(2), pages 89-91, September.

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