Videos

Algorithms, Approximation, and Learning in Market and Mechanism Design: "The Languages of Product-Mix Auctions"

Presenter
November 7, 2023
Keywords:
  • market design
  • mechanism design
  • auctions
  • matching
  • approximation
  • equilibrium analysis
  • algorithmic game theory
  • complexity
  • economic theory
  • discrete optimization
  • graph theory
  • mathematical programming
Abstract
Product-mix auctions are sealed-bid mechanisms for trading multiple units of multiple differentiated goods. They implement competitive-equilibrium allocations based on the preferences that participants express in a geometric language. Versions we have implemented are easy to use and understand. All concave substitutes (respectively, strong substitutes) preferences can be uniquely represented, and no other preferences can be represented, by appropriate sets of permitted bids in the corresponding version of this language. These languages thus also provide new characterizations of ordinary substitutes, and of strong substitutes. We discuss implementation of the auctions, and extensions and variants of the language, e.g., allowing for budget constraints.