Publications

11 Mar 2008
First Look

First Look: March 11, 2008

conditions under which a dominant design may be achieved, the underlying architecture of the era of incremental change and the dynamics associated with discontinuities. Testing a Purportedly More Learnable Auction Mechanism... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 2023
Article

Algorithmic Mechanism Design with Investment

By: Mohammad Akbarpour, Scott Duke Kominers, Kevin Michael Li, Shengwu Li and Paul Milgrom

We study the investment incentives created by truthful mechanisms that allocate resources using approximation algorithms. Some approximation algorithms guarantee nearly 100% of the optimal welfare, but have only a zero guarantee when one bidder can invest before... View Details

Keywords: Mechanism Design; Market Design; Auctions

12 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 12, 2007

and French size and value portfolios, the market portfolio, bond portfolios, and the entire cross-section of stocks. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-060.pdf Testing a Purportedly More Learnable Auction Mechanism... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

December 2020
Article

The Parable of the Auctioneer: Complexity in Paul R. Milgrom's Discovering Prices

By: Scott Duke Kominers and Alexander Teytelboym

Designing marketplaces in complex settings requires both novel economic theory and real-world engineering, often drawing upon ideas from fields such as computer science and operations research. In Discovering Prices, Milgrom (2017) explains the theory and design... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Design; Auctions; Market Design; Complexity

2010
Book

Negotiauctions: New Dealmaking Strategies for a Competitive Marketplace

By: Guhan Subramanian

Keywords: Negotiation; Auctions; Strategy; Competition; Markets

2018
Working Paper

Full Substitutability

By: John William Hatfield, Scott Duke Kominers, Alexandru Nichifor, Michael Ostrovsky and Alexander Westkamp

Various forms of substitutability are essential for establishing the existence of equilibria and other useful properties in diverse settings such as matching, auctions, and exchange economies with indivisible goods. We extend earlier models’ definitions of... View Details

Keywords: Substitutability; Mathematical Methods; Auctions; Market Design

SSRN

January 1992
Article

Theory and Misbehavior in First-Price Auctions: Comment

By: J. H. Kagel and A. E. Roth

Keywords: Auctions; Information; Behavior

Article

An Invitation to Market Design

By: Scott Duke Kominers, Alexander Teytelboym and Vincent P. Crawford

Market design seeks to translate economic theory and analysis into practical solutions to real-world problems. By redesigning both the rules that guide market transactions and the infrastructure that enables those transactions to take place, market designers can... View Details

Keywords: Matching; Trading; Scrip; Liquidity; Efficiency; Equity; Allocation Rules; Marketplaces; Market Design; Marketplace Matching; Auctions

autumn 2000
Article

eBay, Inc.

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Kelley Porter

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Auctions; Consumer Products Industry

12 Aug 2002
Research & Ideas

‘Let the Buyer Beware’ Doesn’t Protect Investors

information in the boilerplate of interest to an investor." In the end, an investment bank is a sales organization not much different from an auction house that sells used furniture. —D. Quinn Mills In the end, an investment bank is... View Details

Keywords: by D. Quinn Mills

25 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Walking Away from a $3 Billion Deal

focus on proprietary deals that don't involve bidding against other firms in a competitive auction process. Proceeding with the $4 billion fund would bring significant change to how the firm does business. "We currently fund every... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Financial Services

November 2019
Article

Full Substitutability

By: John William Hatfield, Scott Duke Kominers, Alexandru Nichifor, Michael Ostrovsky and Alexander Westkamp

Various forms of substitutability are essential for establishing the existence of equilibria and other useful properties in diverse settings such as matching, auctions, and exchange economies with indivisible goods. We extend earlier models’ definitions of... View Details

Keywords: Substitutability; Mathematical Methods; Auctions; Market Design

January 2017
Supplement

Bayer AG: Bidding to Win Merck's OTC Business

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Marc Baaij and Arjen Mulder

Keywords: Acquisition; Bidding Strategy; Valuing Synergies; Negotiations; Corporate Strategy; Business Unit Strategy; Bidding Process; Discounted Cash Flow; Cross-border M＆A; Tax Shields; Valuation; Competitive Strategy; Auctions; Germany; United States; United Kingdom

Purchase

February 2006 (Revised January 2007)
Case

MercadoLibre.com

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, Joshua Bellin and James Robert Dillon

MercadoLibre.com, eBay's Latin-American partner, needed to decide how far it was going to follow eBay's practice of offering "free listing days" and discounted special-feature days. Was this type of promotion prudent, given MercadoLibre.com's customer base, revenue... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Auctions; Service Industry; Latin America

Educators

Purchase

February 2003 (Revised October 2004)
Background Note

Antamini Simulation Model

By: Peter Tufano

Antamini is a simulation of the value of an investment project whose outcome is uncertain. This case describes the situation facing a natural resource firm as it contemplates bidding on a copper mine in Peru. The bidder faces uncertainties about the ore deposit size... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Auctions; Investment; Mining; Mining Industry; Peru