Two-bidder all-pay auctions with interdependent valuations, including the highly competitive case

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Rentschler, Lucas; Turocy, Theodore L.
• 署名单位: University of East Anglia; University of East Anglia
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC THEORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-0531
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jet.2016.02.005
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: 435-466
• 关键词: Contests; All-pay auctions; Mixed strategies

摘要

We analyze symmetric, two-bidder all-pay auctions with interdependent valuations and discrete type spaces. Relaxing previous restrictions on the distribution of types and the valuation structure, we present a construction that characterizes all symmetric equilibria. We show how the search problem this construction faces can be complex. In equilibrium, randomization can take place over disjoint intervals of bids, equilibrium supports can have a rich structure, and non-monotonicity of the equilibrium may result in a positive probability of allocative inefficiency when the value of the prize is not common. Particular attention is paid to the case in which an increase in a bidder's posterior expected value of winning the auction is likely to be accompanied by a corresponding increase for the other bidder. Such environments are highly competitive in the sense that the bidder's higher valuation also signals that the other bidder has an incentive to bid aggressively. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.