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The parable of the auctioneer: complexity in Paul R. Milgrom’s Discovering Prices

Abstract:
Designing marketplaces in complex settings requires both novel economic theory and real-world engineering, often drawing upon ideas from fields such as computer science and operations research. In Discovering Prices, Milgrom (2017) explains the theory and design of the United States “Incentive Auction” that reallocated wireless spectrum licenses from television broadcasters to telecoms. Milgrom’s account teaches us how economic designers can grapple with complexity both in theory and in practice. Along the way, we come to understand several different types of complexity that can arise in market design.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.1257/jel.20191504

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Institution:
University of Oxford
Role:
Author


Publisher:
American Economic Association
Journal:
Journal of Economic Literature More from this journal
Volume:
58
Issue:
4
Publication date:
2020-12-09
Acceptance date:
2020-08-28
DOI:
ISSN:
0022-0515


Language:
English
Keywords:
Pubs id:
1132606
Local pid:
pubs:1132606
Deposit date:
2020-09-17

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