Combinatorial Auctions (Hardcover)

by Peter Cramton (Author), Yoav Shoham (Author), Richard Steinberg (Author) "Combinatorial auctions are those auctions in which bidders can place bids on combinations of items, called "packages," rather than just individual items..." (more)
Key Phrases: proxy auction, atomic bids, composite bid, Electronic Commerce, Tuomas Sandholm, Yoav Shoham (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"'Smart' markets, which allow participants to bid for packages of items, are now an attractive option for sales and procurements in a variety of settings. This book provides a comprehensive overview of both theoretical considerations and practical details. It is remarkable for combining economics, game theory, optimization, and computer science in a unified perspective. Combinatorial Auctions is a major advance in the theory and practice of market design."
—Robert Wilson, Stanford University

"Combinatorial Auctions is excellent and exceptional in practically all attributes I would care about in this type of work. This includes the breadth and depth of the topics covered and the language employed. Additionally, my praise also extends to minor details, such as the existence of an exhaustive author and subject index, and the quality of its typesetting, especially with regard to the mathematical apparatus used in some of the chapters. For researchers and practitioners, both on the seller side and on the buyer side, who deal with (combinatorial) auctions, this book is a must-read."
— Computing Reviews

"Anyone with an interest in auction theory, market design, and more broadly, practical applications of game theory, will find this book extremely valuable both as a reference to the existing work on combinatorial auctions and as a source of topics and ideas for new research."
— Journal of Economic Literature

"Combinatorial auctions is an important interdisciplinary field combining issues from economics, game theory, optimization, and computer science. The book presents a great collection of state-of-the-art surveys with a well-balanced view integrating all aspects. A very impressive accomplishment! It will help us all appreciate the full range of issues, and will be a great reference for years to come."
—Eva Tardos, Cornell University

"The study of combinatorial auctions has importance both practical and theoretical. In combinatorial auctions, our elegant models of resource allocation confront the true complexity of markets, where potential traders compete to buy or sell many different but related goods. Combinatorial auctions are the great frontier of auction theory today, and this book provides a state-of-the-art survey of this exciting field."
—Roger Myerson, University of Chicago, Nobel Prize in Economics 2007

"This book is indispensable for all researchers and practitioners that want to get introduced to the world of combinatorial auctions."
— Operations Research Letters

"This important volume addresses many of the crucial issues in modern auction design. Containing insightful contributions from many of the world's leading market designers and auction theorists, it will be an essential reference for scholars and practitioners alike."
—Paul Klemperer, Oxford University

Product Description
With a foreword by Vernon L. Smith, recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics.

The study of combinatorial auctions—auctions in which bidders can bid on combinations of items or "packages"—draws on the disciplines of economics, operations research, and computer science. This landmark collection integrates these three perspectives, offering a state-of-the art survey of developments in combinatorial auction theory and practice by leaders in the field.

Combinatorial auctions (CAs), by allowing bidders to express their preferences more fully, can lead to improved economic efficiency and greater auction revenues. However, challenges arise in both design and implementation. Combinatorial Auctions addresses each of these challenges. After describing and analyzing various CA mechanisms, the book addresses bidding languages and questions of efficiency. Possible strategies for solving the computationally intractable problem of how to compute the objective-maximizing allocation (known as the winner determination problem) are considered, as are questions of how to test alternative algorithms. The book discusses five important applications of CAs: spectrum auctions, airport takeoff and landing slots, procurement of freight transportation services, the London bus routes market, and industrial procurement. This unique collection makes recent work in CAs available to a broad audience of researchers and practitioners. The integration of work from the three disciplines underlying CAs, using a common language throughout, serves to advance the field in theory and practice.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 649 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262033429
• ISBN-13: 978-0262033428
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #97,994 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and Understandable, February 15, 2006

By	Jose M. Vidal (Columbia, SC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is aimed at researchers in Economics and multiagent systems who want to know about the latest research in combinatorial auctions---a field which has seen a lot of advances in the last decade. I found the book to be very accessible. Many of the chapters present summaries of recent work, bringing together in one place theorems and algorithms that have been published in different conferences. These summaries are a great way to learn all there is to know about combinatorial auctions without having to wade thru complex proofs or hard to read presentations.