Credibility in Second-Price Auctions: An Experimental Test

• Tác giả: Ahrash Dianat, Mikhail Freer
• Ngôn ngữ: eng
• Ký hiệu phân loại: 018.3 +Catalogs arranged by author, main entry, date, or register number
• Thông tin xuất bản: 2021
• Bộ sưu tập: Báo, Tạp chí
• ID: 166872

Tóm tắt

We provide the first direct test of how the credibility of an auction format affects bidding behavior and final outcomes. To do so, we conduct a series of laboratory experiments where the role of the seller is played by a human subject who receives the revenue from the auction and who (depending on the treatment) has agency to determine the outcome of the auction. Contrary to theoretical predictions, we find that the non-credible second-price auction fails to converge to the first-price auction. We provide a behavioral explanation for our results based on sellers' aversion to rule-breaking, which is confirmed by an additional experiment.