Bidding in Multi-Unit Auctions under Limited Information

Autor: Kasberger, Bernhard, Woodward, Kyle
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Druh dokumentu: Working Paper
Popis: We study multi-unit auctions in which bidders have limited knowledge of opponent strategies and values. We characterize optimal prior-free bids; these bids minimize the maximal loss in expected utility resulting from uncertainty surrounding opponent behavior. Optimal bids are readily computable despite bidders having multi-dimensional private information, and in certain cases admit closed-form solutions. In the pay-as-bid auction the minimax-loss bid is unique; in the uniform-price auction the minimax-loss bid is unique if the bidder is allowed to determine the quantities for which they bid, as in many practical applications. We compare minimax-loss bids and auction outcomes across auction formats, and derive testable predictions.
Databáze: arXiv