Managing Procurement Auction Failure: Bid Requirements or Reserve Prices

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Ma, Jun, Marmer, Vadim, Xu, Pai
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Ma, Jun
Marmer, Vadim
Xu, Pai
author_facet Ma, Jun
Marmer, Vadim
Xu, Pai
contents This paper examines bid requirements, where the government may cancel a procurement contract unless two or more bids are received. Using a first-price auction model with endogenous entry, we compare the bid requirement and reserve price mechanisms in terms of auction failure and procurement costs. We find that, in comparison with bid requirements, reserve prices can reduce procurement costs and substantially lower failure probabilities, especially when entry costs are high or signals are sufficiently informative. Bid requirements are more likely to result in zero entry, while reserve prices can sustain positive entry under broader conditions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_03996
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Managing Procurement Auction Failure: Bid Requirements or Reserve Prices
Ma, Jun
Marmer, Vadim
Xu, Pai
General Economics
Economics
This paper examines bid requirements, where the government may cancel a procurement contract unless two or more bids are received. Using a first-price auction model with endogenous entry, we compare the bid requirement and reserve price mechanisms in terms of auction failure and procurement costs. We find that, in comparison with bid requirements, reserve prices can reduce procurement costs and substantially lower failure probabilities, especially when entry costs are high or signals are sufficiently informative. Bid requirements are more likely to result in zero entry, while reserve prices can sustain positive entry under broader conditions.
title Managing Procurement Auction Failure: Bid Requirements or Reserve Prices
topic General Economics
Economics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.03996