Combinatorial Auctions

Combinatorial Auctions

Peter Cramton (Editor), Yoav Shoham (Editor), Richard Steinberg (Editor), Vernon L. Smith (Foreword by)
$35.00
Publication Date: January 22nd, 2010
Publisher:
The MIT Press
ISBN:
9780262514132
Pages:
672
Special Order - Subject to Availability

Description

A synthesis of theoretical and practical research on combinatorial auctions from the perspectives of economics, operations research, and computer science.

With a foreword by Vernon L. Smith, recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics.

The study of combinatorial auctions—auctions in which bidders can bid on combinations of items or "packages"—draws on the disciplines of economics, operations research, and computer science. This landmark collection integrates these three perspectives, offering a state-of-the art survey of developments in combinatorial auction theory and practice by leaders in the field.

Combinatorial auctions (CAs), by allowing bidders to express their preferences more fully, can lead to improved economic efficiency and greater auction revenues. However, challenges arise in both design and implementation. Combinatorial Auctions addresses each of these challenges. After describing and analyzing various CA mechanisms, the book addresses bidding languages and questions of efficiency. Possible strategies for solving the computationally intractable problem of how to compute the objective-maximizing allocation (known as the winner determination problem) are considered, as are questions of how to test alternative algorithms. The book discusses five important applications of CAs: spectrum auctions, airport takeoff and landing slots, procurement of freight transportation services, the London bus routes market, and industrial procurement. This unique collection makes recent work in CAs available to a broad audience of researchers and practitioners. The integration of work from the three disciplines underlying CAs, using a common language throughout, serves to advance the field in theory and practice.

About the Author

Peter Cramton is Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland.

Yoav Shoham is Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University.

Richard Steinberg is Chair in Operations Research, London School of Economics.

Praise for Combinatorial Auctions

Combinatorial Auctions is excellent and exceptional in practically all attributes I would care about in this type of work. This includes the breadth and depth of the topics covered and the language employed. Additionally, my praise also extends to minor details, such as the existence of an exhaustive author and subject index, and the quality of its typesetting, especially with regard to the mathematical apparatus used in some of the chapters. For researchers and practitioners, both on the seller side and on the buyer side, who deal with (combinatorial) auctions, this book is a must-read.—Computing Reviews—

Anyone with an interest in auction theory, market design, and more broadly, practical applications of game theory, will find this book extremely valuable both as a reference to the existing work on combinatorial auctions and as a source of topics and ideas for new research.

—Journal of Economic Literature—

This book is indispensable for all researchers and practitioners that want to get introduced to the world of combinatorial auctions.

—Operations Research Letters—