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What Really Matters in Auction Design

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  • Professor Paul Klemperer

    (Nuffield College, University of Oxford)

Abstract

The most important issues in auction design are the traditional concerns of competition policy-preventing collusive, predatory, and entry deterring behaviour. Ascending and uniform-price auctions are particularly vulnerable to these problems (we discuss radiospectrum and football TV-rights auctions, electricity markets, and takeover battles), and the Anglo-Dutch auction-a hybrid of the sealed-bid and ascending auctions-may often perform better. However, everything depends on the details of the context; the circumstances of the U.K. mobile-phone license auction made an ascending format ideal. Auction design is a matter of "horses for courses", not "one size fits all".

Suggested Citation

  • Professor Paul Klemperer, 2000. "What Really Matters in Auction Design," Microeconomics 0004008, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpmi:0004008
    Note: Type of Document - Acrobat pdf; prepared on PC; to print on HP; pages: 20; figures: included
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C7 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory
    • D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty
    • L - Industrial Organization

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