Ascending auctions for multiple objects: the case for the Japanese design

Summary. We consider two ascending auctions for multiple objects, namely, an English and a Japanese auction, and derive a perfect Bayesian equilibrium of the Japanese auction by exploiting its strategic equivalence with the survival auction, which consists of a finite sequence of sealed-bid auctions. Thus an equilibrium of a continuous time game is derived by means of backward induction in finitely many steps. We then show that all equilibria of the Japanese auction induce equilibria of the English auction, but that many collusive or signaling equilibria of the English auction do not have a counterpart in the Japanese auction.Received: 2 September 2004, Revised: 20 April 2005, JEL Classification Numbers: C72, D44.Fabrizio Germano: Correspondence toWe are indebted to Philippe Jehiel for useful discussions and to Nicolas Vieille for suggestions in the proof of Proposition 2; we also thank seminar audiences in Athens, Basel, Beer-Sheva, Berlin, Brussels, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Exeter, Lausanne, Lisbon, London, Louvain-la-Neuve, Namur and Tel Aviv. Germano acknowledges financial support from Euopean Commission, TMR Network Grant ERBFMRXCT0055, “Cooperation and Information” as well from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology, Grants SEC2001-0792, SEJ2004-06319, and in form of a Ramon y Cajal Fellowship. Lovo is member of GREGHEC, unité CNRS, FRE-2810. The support of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is also gratefully acknowledged. The work was part of the programme of the ESRC Research for Economic Learning and Social Evolution.     

中国可再生能源产业化发展的成长过程分析

本文在明确可再生能源和可再生能源产业化概念的基础上，分析了可再生能源产业化发展的成长过程，并对中国可再生能源政策的发展阶段、农村能源产业的成长过程、可再生能源技术商业化的发展阶段进行了分析。     

Technological variation and the US renewable fuel standard

The US Renewable Fuel Standard contains a policy bias that undermines the three-broad policy goals of rural development, energy security, and greenhouse gas reductions. This policy bias, wherein a narrow range of options is expected to address broad societal objectives, contributes to a persistence of first-generation biofuels and limits technical variation. Renewable fuel content requirements have helped to expand the use of ethanol and biodiesel in the short term. However, long-term changes will require greater technological variation to stimulate innovation for the development of sustainable renewable fuel pathways.     

Late and multiple bidding in second price Internet auctions: Theory and evidence concerning different rules for ending an auction

In second price Internet auctions with a fixed end time, such as those on eBay, many bidders submit their bids in the closing minutes or seconds of an auction. We propose an internet auction model, in which very late bids have a positive probability of not being successfully submitted, and show that late bidding in a fixed deadline auction can occur at equilibrium in auctions both with private values and with uncertain, dependent values. Late bidding may also arise out of equilibrium, as a best reply to incremental bidding. However, the strategic advantages of late bidding are severely attenuated in auctions that apply an automatic extension rule such as auctions conducted on Amazon. Field data show that there is more late bidding on eBay than on Amazon, and this difference grows with experience. We also study the incidence of multiple bidding, and its relation to late bidding.     

Competition in the economic crisis: Analysis of procurement auctions

We study the effects of the recent economic crisis on firms׳ bidding behavior and markups in sealed bid auctions. Using data from Austrian construction procurements, we estimate bidders׳ construction costs within a private value auction model. We find that markups of all bids submitted decrease by 1.5 percentage points in the recent economic crisis, markups of winning bids decrease by 3.3 percentage points. We also find that without the government stimulus package this decrease would have been larger. These two pieces of evidence point to pro-cyclical markups.     

Ranking asymmetric auctions: Filling the gap between a distributional shift and stretch

I consider first-price auctions (FPA) and second-price auctions (SPA) with two asymmetric bidders. The FPA is known to be more profitable than the SPA if the strong bidder's distribution function is convex and the weak bidder's distribution is obtained by truncating or horizontally shifting the former. In this paper, I employ a new mechanism design result to show that the FPA remains optimal if the weak bidder's distribution falls between the two benchmarks in a natural way. The same conclusion holds if the strong bidder's distribution is concave, but with a vertical shift replacing the horizontal shift. A result with a similar flavor holds if the strong bidder's distribution is neither convex nor concave. The dispersive order and the star order prove useful in comparing the weak bidder's distribution to the benchmarks. A key step establishes a relationship between these orders and reverse hazard rate dominance.     

Support to renewable energy sources and carbon capture and sequestration: comparison of alternative green tax reforms

We compare the economic and environmental effects of several specifications of a green tax reform (GTR) where tax revenues are used to support renewable energy sources (RESs) and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) activities. With this aim, we propose an equilibrium model where final-goods production uses labour and energy, and energy production uses nonpolluting RES and polluting fossil fuels. The comparison is based on three key indicators: output per worker, energy intensity and the ratio of renewables over nonrenewables. We test five variations of the GTR in addition to the no-policy case. Results show that a GTR as the one we propose here never provides a double dividend. There are environmental benefits but at the expense of the economy. Additionally, for lower tax levels, prioritizing RES support has lower economic costs and potential environmental benefits. For higher tax levels, CCS support becomes more competitive.     

A robust analysis of the relationship between renewable energy consumption and its main drivers

We provide a comprehensive and robust analysis of the drivers of renewable energy consumption for a panel of 64 countries, using both the static (Pooled OLS, Panel Fixed and Random Effects) and dynamic (difference and system GMM) panel data estimation approaches. We show that the dynamic panel data model provides more efficient estimators than the static ones and that increases in per capita CO₂ emissions and per capita trade with foreign partners mainly drive the changes in per capita renewable energy consumption. We also find limited evidence of oil price effects on renewable energy consumption, which reflects the fact that renewable energy is just a complement and not a perfect substitute of crude oil, at least in the short run.     

The causal dynamics between renewable energy,real GDP,emissions and oil prices: evidence from OECD countries

This study extends the empirical literature on the determinants of renewable energy consumption in the case of 25 OECD countries for the period 1980–2011. Preliminary analysis suggests the presence of cross-sectional dependence within the panel data. As a result, second-generation panel unit root tests of Smith et al. (2004) and Pesaran (2007) are undertaken to find the respective variables that are integrated of order one. Panel cointegration and error correction modelling reveal that a long-run relationship exists between renewable energy consumption per capita, real GDP per capita, carbon dioxide emissions per capita and real oil prices. The long-run elasticity estimates are positive and statistically significant for real GDP per capita, carbon dioxide emissions per capita and real oil prices. The panel error correction model shows that a feedback relationship exists among the variables.     

A study of zero-out auctions: testbed experiments of a process of allocating private rights to the use of public property

Summary This paper applies an experimental testbed methodology to the evaluation of a proposed mechanism for allocating the right to land at the New York airports. The mechanism is called a zero-out auction because it is supposed to allocate the rights efficiently like an auction while leaving all of the consumer's surplus with the buyers (as opposed to allocating some to the seller as would be the case with an ordinary auction). A new behavioral hypothesis is introduced to account for limited rationality of individuals and unusual behaviors of the process. The axiom, called theunbiased expectations hypothesis, does a good job of modeling individual behavior in the context of a game model.We acknowledge the financial support of the National Science Foundation and the Caltech Laboratory for Experimental Economics and Political Science. Comments by David Grether, John Ledyard, Michael Levine, Jennifer Reinganum, and Richard Sutch have been very helpful.     

Determinants of renewable energy adoption in China and India: a comparative analysis

This article examines the dynamic relationships among output, carbon emission and renewable energy generation of India and China during the period 1972 to 2011 using a multivariate vector error correction model (VECM). The results for India reveal unidirectional short-run causality from carbon emission to renewable energy generation and from renewable energy generation to output, whereas in the long run, the variables have bidirectional causality. Causalities in China give a rather different scenario, with a short-run unidirectional causality from output to renewable energy and from carbon emission to renewable energy generation. In the long run, for China, unidirectional causality is found from output to renewable energy generation, while bidirectional causality is found between carbon emission and renewable energy generation.     

Strategy-proof contract auctions and the role of ties

A contract auction establishes a contract between a center and one of the bidders. As contracts may describe many terms, preferences over contracts typically display indifferences. The Qualitative Vickrey Auction (QVA) selects the best contract for the winner that is at least as good for the center as any of the contracts offered by the non-winning players. When each bidder can always offer a contract with higher utility for the center at an arbitrarily small loss of her own utility, the QVA is the only mechanism that is individually rational, strategy-proof, selects stable outcomes, and is Pareto efficient. For general continuous utility functions, a variant of the QVA involving fixed tie-breaking is strategy-proof and also selects stable outcomes. However, there is no mechanism in this setting that in addition also selects Pareto efficient outcomes.     

International knowledge spillovers in the wind power industry: evidence from the European Union

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the presence of international knowledge spillovers in the wind power sector. Specifically, the paper investigates whether successful invention efforts in one country, measured by way of granted wind power patent counts, have had positive effects on the neighboring countries’ abilities to generate patents of the same category. Data on the number of patents granted at the European Patent Office during the period 1978–2008 are used for the eight national technological leaders in the western European wind power sector. The few comprehensive wind power studies that exist have only found limited evidence of international knowledge spillovers. However, in this paper, we find that international spillovers are statistically significant determinants of a country’s wind power patenting outcomes. Geographical distance is also taken into consideration, and the knowledge spillover effects are shown to become stronger with decreases in this distance. The results should have important policy implications, for example, for a national government when it comes to applying an investment strategy in wind power or, alternatively, free-riding on other countries’ invention efforts.     

The role of market-oriented institutions in the deployment of renewable energies: evidences from Europe

Focusing on European countries, this article investigates the link between market-oriented institutions, as measured by the Economic Freedom Index, and the production of energy from renewable sources. A dynamic panel approach shows that this correlation is positive and significant while the subcomponents of the Economic Freedom Index reveal that not all market-oriented institutions have a similar impact. Indeed, long-term price stability and freedom to trade boost the reliance on renewable energies whereas the importance given to markets rather than governments has no significant impact.     

英国和德国可再生能源产业激励政策和实施效果的比较

英国和德国都是国际上控制气候变化和开发可替代能源的积极倡导者,但目前,两国在可再生能源的开发和利用方面存在较大的差距:截至2012年,英国和德国可再生能源在最终能源消费中的占比分别为4.1%和12.6%;可再生能源的总装机容量分别为15538和76017MW。究其原因,主要是由两国不同的能源政策造成的,英国采取的是类似配额制的可再生能源义务令制度,而德国采用的是固定上网电价机制。事实证明,德国的入网电价体系优于英国的可再生能源义务令,因为它在一定时期内能为可再生能源发电商提供稳定的回报。英国尽管在可再生能源的开发和利用方面落后于德国,但英国自然条件优越,开发利用可再生能源的潜力巨大,加上政府的积极努力,英国可再生能源产业的发展有望得到较大改观。     

Growing through trade in intermediate goods: the role of foreign growth and domestic tariffs

We show that pure Ricardian trade can account for the empirical evidence that domestic growth is more affected by foreign growth than by trade openness. To do this, we develop a two‐country model involving a backward economy that exchanges intermediate goods with a faster growing country. We obtain three main results regarding growth and welfare of the backward economy: (i) the growth‐enhancing comparative advantage is facilitated by faster foreign growth; (ii) the growth rate may be negatively affected or unaffected by a domestic tariff, while it is always positively impacted by foreign growth; and (iii) a domestic tariff could be welfare‐improving.     

Approximations in power transmission planning: implications for the cost and performance of renewable portfolio standards

Renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) are popular market-based mechanisms for promoting development of renewable power generation. However, they are usually implemented without considering the capabilities and cost of transmission infrastructure. We use single- and multi-stage planning approaches to find cost-effective transmission and generation investments to meet single and multi-year RPS goals, respectively. Using a six-node network and assuming a linearized DC power flow, we examine how the lumpy nature of network reinforcements and Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law can affect the performance of RPSs. First, we show how simplified planning approaches that ignore transmission constraints, transmission lumpiness, or Kirchhoff’s voltage law yield distorted estimates of the type and location of infrastructure, as well as inaccurate compliance costs to meet the renewable goals. Second, we illustrate how lumpy transmission investments and Kirchhoff’s voltage law result in compliance costs that are nonconvex with respect to the RPS targets, in the sense that the marginal costs of meeting the RPS may decrease rather than increase as the target is raised. Thus, the value of renewable energy certificates (RECs) also depends on the network topology, as does the amount of noncompliance with the RPS, if noncompliance is penalized but not prohibited. Finally, we use a multi-stage planning model to determine the optimal generation and transmission infrastructure for RPS designs that set multiyear goals. We find that the optimal infrastructure to meet RPS policies that are enforced year-by-year differ from the optimal infrastructure if banking and borrowing is allowed in the REC market.     

Subsidies for renewable energies in the presence of learning effects and market power

We study the impact of learning by doing, learning spill-overs, and imperfect competition in a model with two types of electricity producers, an oligopolistic sector of polluting fossil-fuel utilities and a competitive fringe of non-polluting generators of electricity from renewable energy sources (RES-E). Furthermore we consider an upstream industry of RES-E equipment producers engaged in learning by doing. We show that a first-best policy requires two instruments, a tax in the fossil-fuel sector and an output subsidy for RES-E equipment producers. We then study second-best-optimal feed-in tariffs that are paid to the generators of RES-E. By means of simulations we calculate the welfare loss of a second-best-optimal feed-in-tariff policy and analyze how market structure impacts on second-best-optimal feed-in tariffs.     

Two-part tariffs in the online gaming industry: The role of creative destruction and network externalities

Playing computer games online is a fast growing, billion dollar industry which has received little academic attention. The industry exhibits a number of interesting economic features. The industry structure is determined by creative destruction as in Aghion and Howitt (1992) [Aghion, P., Howitt, P. 1992. A model of growth through creative destruction, Econometrica, 60(2), 323–351], with game makers experiencing market power within a genre until the game is superceded. Furthermore, the attractiveness of playing a game online depends on the existence of opponents (positive network externalities) while technical and reputational problems eventually arise (negative network externalities). We model the choice of two-part tariffs by a monopolist under creative destruction and network externalities and derive conditions for the multiple equilibria which currently exist in the industry.     

能源循环利用的制度安排与经济的和谐增长——基于政府的机制设计

随着经济的高速增长.我国已经成为全球名列前茅的能耗大国,而近年来世界能源价格普遍上涨使得长期以来处于粗放型增长阶段的我国工业生产逐渐面临能源瓶颈。以高能耗为代价的产值增长不符合科学发展观的要求,也不利于经济保持长期增长的活力。本文通过建立计量模型研究发现,我国工业企业并没有足够的自主激励进行提高能源利用效率的技术投入,进而应用机制设计理论建立博弈模型分析了政府在激励企业加大能源循环利用的技术投入、实现经济的和谐增长过程中所应进行的制度安排。