nep-cta New Economics Papers
on Contract Theory and Applications
Issue of 2025–04–07
two papers chosen by
Guillem Roig, University of Melbourne


  1. Collusion when players take turns By Corchón, Luis C.; Correa-Lopera, Guadalupe; Moreno, Bernardo
  2. A Universally Efficient Dynamic Auction for All Unimodular Demand Types By Satoru Fujishige; Zaifu Yang

  1. By: Corchón, Luis C.; Correa-Lopera, Guadalupe; Moreno, Bernardo
    Abstract: Traditional collusion models typically assume that players coordinatetheir actions actively during the competition process to influence the outcomes.In contrast, we consider a repeated interaction setting betweentwo players where collusion occurs through well-defined strategies: theplayers take turns, with one holding monopoly power while the other eitherrefrains from participating or behaves as if absent. We provide afull characterization of when taking turns constitutes a subgame perfectNash equilibrium in repeated games. By allowing players to discount timedifferently, we uncover a novel, non-monotonic condition on the discountfactor that sustains collusion. We apply our findings to three specificcontexts: contests, duopoly, and political competition.
    Keywords: Collusion; Political competition; Repeated games; Subgame perfect Nash equilibrium; Take-turns
    JEL: D43 C62 C73 D72
    Date: 2025–03–25
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cte:werepe:46355
  2. By: Satoru Fujishige; Zaifu Yang
    Abstract: We propose a novel strategy-proof dynamic auction for efficiently allocating heterogeneous indivisible commodities. The auction applies to all unimodular demand types of Baldwin and Klemperer’s necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of competitive equilibrium which accommodate a variety of complements, substitutes, gross substitutes and complements, and any other kinds. Although bidders are not assumed to be price-takers so they can act strategically, this auction induces bidders to bid truthfully, yielding efficient outcomes. Sincere bidding is shown to be an ex post perfect Nash equilibrium of the auction. The trading rules are simple, detail-free, privacy-preserving, error-tolerant, and independent of any probability distribution assumption.
    Keywords: Dynamic Auction Design, Equilibrium, Incentive Compatibility, Unimodular Demand Types, Indivisibility, Incomplete Information.
    Date: 2025–03
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:yorken:25/02

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