Skip to main content
Log in

On the equivalence between descending bid auctions and first price sealed bid auctions

  • Published:
Theory and Decision Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Bidding the same price in descending bid auctions and in first price sealed bid auctions is equivalent to expected utility maximizing behavior, and this is equivalent to dynamically consistent bidding. The claim that, in strategic form, descending bid and first price sealed bid auctions are the same game is thus shown to be false, since the mapping from strategies to payoffs is not the same for the two auction forms.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Chew, Soo Hong: 1985, ‘A Bibliographical Note on Differentiability of Preference Functionals’, Manuscript.

  • Hadamard, J.: 1923, ‘La Notion de Differentielle dans L'Enseignement’, Scripta Univ. Ad. Hierosolymitanarum (Jerusalem) 1.

  • Karni, Edi and Zvi Safra: 1986a, ‘Dynamic Consistency in English Auctions and Expected Utility Theory’, Working Paper #167, Department of Political Economy, The Johns Hopkins University.

  • Karni, Edi and Zvi Safra: 1986b, ‘Revelations in Auctions and the Structure of Preferences’, Working Paper #175, Department of Political Economy, The Johns Hopkins University.

  • Karni, Edi and Zvi Safra: 1986c, ‘Ascending Bid Auctions with Behaviorally Consistent Preferences’, Manuscript.

  • Milgrom, Paul R.: 1985, ‘Auction Theory’, A paper presented to the 1985 World Congress of the Econometric Society (1985).

  • Milgrom, Paul R. and Robert J. Weber: 1982, ‘A Theory of Auctions and Competitive Bidding’, Econometrica 50, 1089–1122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vickery, William: 1961, ‘Counterspeculation, Actions, and Competitive Sealed Tenders’, Journal of Finance 16, 8–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber, Robert J.: 1982, ‘The Allais Paradox, Dutch Auctions, and Alpha-Utility Theory’, Working paper, J.L. Kellog Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Karni, E. On the equivalence between descending bid auctions and first price sealed bid auctions. Theor Decis 25, 211–217 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00133162

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00133162

Keywords

Navigation