The Role of Risk Preferences in Pay-to-Bid Auctions

• Autores: Brennan C. Platt, Joseph Price, Henry Tappen
• Localización: Management science: journal of the Institute for operations research and the management sciences, ISSN 0025-1909, Vol. 59, Nº. 9, 2013, págs. 2117-2134
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • We analyze a new auction format in which bidders pay a fee each time they increase the auction price. Bidding fees are the primary source of revenue for the seller but produce the same expected revenue as standard auctions (assuming risk-neutral bidders). If risk-loving preferences are incorporated in the model, expected revenue increases. Our model predicts a particular distribution of ending prices, which we test against observed auction data. The degree of fit depends on how unobserved parameters are chosen; in particular, a slight preference for risk has the biggest impact in explaining auction behavior, suggesting that pay-to-bid auctions are a mild form of gambling.