Optimal payments in dominant-strategy mechanisms for single-parameter domains
OA Location
Author(s)
Naroditskiy, V
Polukarov, M
Jennings, NR
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We study dominant-strategy mechanisms in allocation domains where agents have one-dimensional types and quasilinear utilities. Taking an allocation function as an input, we present an algorithmic technique for finding optimal payments in a class of mechanism design problems, including utilitarian and egalitarian allocation of homogeneous items with nondecreasing marginal costs. Our results link optimality of payment functions to a geometric condition involving triangulations of polytopes. When this condition is satisfied, we constructively show the existence of an optimal payment function that is piecewise linear in agent types.
Date Issued
2013-02
Date Acceptance
2012-04-04
Citation
ACM Transactions on Economics and Computation, 2013, 1, pp.4.1-4.21
Start Page
4.1
End Page
4.21
Journal / Book Title
ACM Transactions on Economics and Computation
Volume
1
Identifier
http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/336512/
Article Number
1