Journal of Regulatory Economics

Supply Function Equilibria of Pay–as–Bid Auctions

Journal Article
Reference
Holmberg, Pär (2009). “Supply Function Equilibria of Pay–as–Bid Auctions”. Journal of Regulatory Economics 36(2), 154–177. doi.org/10.1007/s11149-009-9091-6

Author
Pär Holmberg

This paper characterizes the Nash equilibrium in a pay-as-bid (discriminatory), divisible-good, procurement auction, Demand by the auctioneer is uncertain as in tbe supply function equilibrium model. A closed form expression is derived for a one shot game. Existence of an equilibrium is ensured if tbe hazard rate of the demand distribution is monotonically decreasing witb respect to the shock outcome and sellers have non-decreasing marginal costs. Multiple equilibria can be ruled out for markets, for which tbe auctioneer's demand exceeds suppliers' capacity with a positive probability. The derived equilibrium can be used to model strategic bidding behavior in pay-as-bid electricity auctions, such as tbe balancing mechanism of United Kingdom. Offer curves and mark-ups of the derived equilibrium are compared to results for the SFE of a uniform-price auction.

Pär Holmberg

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