Auctions with Limited Commitment

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2019
Volume: 109
Issue: 3
Pages: 876-910

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We study the role of limited commitment in a standard auction environment. In each period, the seller can commit to an auction with a reserve price but not to future reserve prices. We characterize the set of equilibrium profits attainable for the seller as the period length vanishes. An immediate sale by efficient auction is optimal when there are at least three buyers. For many natural distributions two buyers is enough. Otherwise, we give conditions under which the maximal profit is attained through continuously declining reserve prices.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:109:y:2019:i:3:p:876-910
Journal Field
General
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-26