Optimal auctions when a seller is bound to sell to collusive bidders
I consider optimal auctions for a seller who is bound to sell a single item to one of two potential buyers, organized as " well-coordinated " cartel. I show that, even though the seller cannot deter collusion, he can optimally accommodate it by employing a simple mechanism which imposes an inefficient allocation on the bidders unless they pay a sufficiently high amount to avoid it.
View the original document on HAL open archive server: http://hal-enac.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01021568 Published, Journal of Industrial Economics, 2009, 57, 4, pp 835-850