A market mechanism in which an object, service, or set of objects is being purchased, rather than sold, to the auctioneer.
The auction provides a specific set of rules that will govern the purchase to the submitter of the lowest bid.
The specific mechanisms of the auction include first
and second price auctions, and English and and Dutch auctions.
Procurement auctions are often used by the government (for example, among defense contractors).
updated: 12 August 2005
HOW TO CITE THIS ENTRY
- To learn more:
- See news articles on auctions.
- Try a winner's curse applet on the applets page.
- Read about auction experiments at e-Economics.net.
- Learn about auctions by reading lecture notes.