We describe the economics literature on auction markets, with an emphasis on the connection between theory, empirical practice, and public policy, and a discussion of outstanding issues. We describe some basic concepts, to highlight some strengths and weaknesses of the literature, and so...

This paper examines federal auctions for leases on the Outer Continental Shelf in the light of the predictions of the first-price, sealed-bid, common-values model of auctions. The authors find that the data strongly support the model for auctions in which one bidder is better informed than the...

Until the stock market bubble burst in 2000-2002, most CFOs viewed their defined benefit pension plans as profit centers and relatively risk-free sources of income. Since neither pension assets nor liabilities were reported on corporate balance sheets, and expected returns on pension stocks...