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An equilibrium analysis of the simultaneous ascending auction

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  • Jacob K. Goeree
  • Yuanchuan Lien

Abstract

We analyze the dynamic simultaneous ascending auction (SAA), which was pioneered by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1994 and has since become the standard to conduct large-scale, large-stakes spectrum auctions around the world. We consider an environment where local bidders, each interested in a single item, compete against one or more global bidders with super-additive values for combinations of items. In the SAA, competition takes place on an item-by-item basis, which creates an exposure problem for global bidders - when competing aggressively for a package, a global bidder may incur a loss when winning only a subset. We characterize the Bayes-Nash equilibria of the SAA, evaluate the impact of the exposure problem on revenue and efficiency, and compare its performance to that of the benchmark Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) mechanism. We show that individual and social incentives are aligned in the SAA in the sense that bidders' drop-out levels maximize expected welfare. Unlike the VCG mechanism, however, the SAA is not fully efficient because when a bidder drops out, information about others' values has been only partially revealed. Like the VCG mechanism, the SAA exhibits perverse revenue properties: due to the exposure problem, the SAA may result in non-core outcomes where local bidders obtain items at very low prices, and seller revenue can be decreasing in the number of bidders. Moreover, the SAA may result in lower revenues than the VCG mechanism. Finally, when the number of items grows large, the SAA and VCG mechanisms become (efficiency and revenue) equivalent.

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  • Jacob K. Goeree & Yuanchuan Lien, 2009. "An equilibrium analysis of the simultaneous ascending auction," IEW - Working Papers 428, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich.
    • Handle: RePEc:zur:iewwpx:428
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    Cited by:

    1. Alexander Teytelboym & Shengwu Li & Scott Duke Kominers & Mohammad Akbarpour & Piotr Dworczak, 2021. "Discovering Auctions: Contributions of Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(3), pages 709-750, July.
    2. Bichler, Martin & Gretschko, Vitali & Janssen, Maarten, 2017. "Bargaining in spectrum auctions: A review of the German auction in 2015," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(5), pages 325-340.
    3. Sano, Ryuji, 2012. "Non-bidding equilibrium in an ascending core-selecting auction," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 637-650.
    4. Goetzendorff, Andor & Bichler, Martin & Goeree, Jacob K., 2018. "Synergistic valuations and efficiency in spectrum auctions," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 91-105.
    5. Meng, Xin & Gunay, Hikmet, 2017. "Exposure problem in multi-unit auctions," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 165-187.
    6. Kaplan, Todd R. & Zamir, Shmuel, 2015. "Advances in Auctions," Handbook of Game Theory with Economic Applications,, Elsevier.
    7. Rosa, Benjamin V., 2022. "Bid credits in simultaneous ascending auctions," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 189-203.
    8. Nicolas C. Bedard & Jacob K. Goeree & Philippos Louis & Jingjing Zhang, 2020. "The Favored but Flawed Simultaneous Multiple-Round Auction," Working Paper Series 2020/03, Economics Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney.
    9. Kuś, Agnieszka, 2020. "Polish experience from first-ever spectrum auction," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(7).
    10. Bichler, Martin & Paulsen, Per, 2018. "A principal-agent model of bidding firms in multi-unit auctions," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 20-40.
    11. Gentry, Matthew & Komarova, Tatiana & Schiraldi, Pasquale & Shin, Wiroy, 2019. "On monotone strategy equilibria in simultaneous auctions for complementary goods," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 109-128.
    12. Bart Vangerven & Dries R. Goossens & Frits C. R. Spieksma, 2021. "Using Feedback to Mitigate Coordination and Threshold Problems in Iterative Combinatorial Auctions," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 63(2), pages 113-127, April.
    13. Thomas Kittsteiner & Marion Ott & Richard Steinberg, 2022. "Competing Combinatorial Auctions," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 33(4), pages 1130-1137, December.
    14. Marsden, Richard & Ihle, Hans-Martin, 2018. "Mechanisms to incentivise shared-use of spectrum," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 315-322.
    15. Janssen, Maarten & Kasberger, Bernhard, 2019. "On the clock of the combinatorial clock auction," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 14(4), November.
    16. Kemal Guler & Martin Bichler & Ioannis Petrakis, 2016. "Ascending Combinatorial Auctions with Risk Averse Bidders," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 609-639, May.
    17. Bichler, Martin & Goeree, Jacob K., 2017. "Frontiers in spectrum auction design," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 372-391.
    18. Janssen, Maarten & Kasberger, Bernhard, 2019. "On the clock of the combinatorial clock auction," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 14(4).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Simultaneous ascending auction; exposure problem; auction design;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D44 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Auctions

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