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Robust Mechanisms: the curvature case

Author

Listed:
  • Vinicius Carrasco

    (Department of Economics PUC-Rio)

  • Vitor Farinha Luz

    (European University Institute and the Department of Economics, The University of British Columbia)

  • Paulo Monteiro

    (FGV/EPGE)

  • Humberto Moreira

    (FGV/EPGE)

Abstract

This note considers the problem of a principal (she) who faces a privately informed agent (he) and only knows one moment of the distribution from which his types are drawn. Payoffs are non-linear in the allocation and the principal maximizes her worst-case expected profits. We recast the robust design problem as a zero-sum game played by the principal and an adversarial nature who seeks to minimize her expected payoffs. The robust mechanism and the worst case distribution are, then, the Nash equilibrium of such game. A robustness property of the optimal mechanism imposes restrictions on the principal’s ex-post profit function. These restrictions then lead to the optimal mechanism. The robust mechanism entails exclusion of low types and distortions at the intensive margin that (in a precise sense) are larger than what those that prevail in standard Bayesian mechanism design problems.

Suggested Citation

  • Vinicius Carrasco & Vitor Farinha Luz & Paulo Monteiro & Humberto Moreira, 2015. "Robust Mechanisms: the curvature case," Textos para discussão 642, Department of Economics PUC-Rio (Brazil).
    • Handle: RePEc:rio:texdis:642
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Wanchang Zhang, 2021. "Random Double Auction: A Robust Bilateral Trading Mechanism," Papers 2105.05427, arXiv.org, revised May 2022.
    3. Zhiwei Liu & Nicholas C. Yannelis, 2021. "Persuasion in an asymmetric information economy: a justification of Wald’s maxmin preferences," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 72(3), pages 801-833, October.
    4. Li, Zhaolin, 2021. "Robust Moral Hazard with Distributional Ambiguity," Working Papers BAWP-2021-01, University of Sydney Business School, Discipline of Business Analytics.
    5. Eitan Sapiro-Gheiler, 2021. "Persuasion with Ambiguous Receiver Preferences," Papers 2109.11536, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2023.
    6. Rosenthal, Maxwell, 2023. "Robust incentives for risk," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    7. Li, Zhaolin, 2020. "Robust Moral Hazard with Distributional Ambiguity," Working Papers BAWP-2020-03, University of Sydney Business School, Discipline of Business Analytics.

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