Template-type: ReDif-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Goossens D.R. 
Author-Name: Müller R. 
Author-Name: Spieksma F.C.R. 
Author-workplace-name: METEOR
Title: Matrix bids in combinatorial auctions: expressiveness and micro-economic properties
Abstract: A combinatorial auction is an auction where multiple items are for sale simultaneously to a set of buyers. Furthermore, buyers are allowed to place bids on subsets of the available items. This paper focuses on a combinatorial auction where a bidder can express his preferences by means of a so-called ordered matrix bid. Ordered matrix bids are a bidding language that allows a compact representation of a bidder''s preferences, and was developed by Day (2004). We give an overview of how a combinatorial auction with matrix bids works. We elaborate on the relevance of the matrix bid auction and we develop methods to verify whether a given matrix bid satisfies properties related to micro-economic theory as free disposal, subadditivity, submodularity and the gross substitutes property. Finally, we investigate how a collection of arbitrary bids can be represented as a matrix bid.
Keywords: microeconomics ; 
Series: Research Memoranda
Creation-Date: 2007
Number: 016
File-URL: http://digitalarchive.maastrichtuniversity.nl/fedora/objects/guid:b8406b95-a17c-44bd-8de2-31fc5f8bf2f1/datastreams/ASSET1/content
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 314584
Handle: RePEc:unm:umamet:2007016