Subgroup additivity requires that a rule assigns the same expected ‘relative’ utility to each agent whether an agent’s expected relative utility is calculated from the problem involving all agents or from its sub-problems with a smaller number of agents. In this paper, we investigate its...

We consider the problem of sharing the cost of a public facility among agents who have different needs for it. We base two characterizations of the sequential equal contributions rule on smallest-cost consistency. Namely, (i) the rule is the only rule satisfying equal treatment of equals,...

We analyze a model of network formation where the costs of forming links are publicly known but an individual's benefits are not know to the social planner. The objective is to design a mechanism which not only ensures that an efficient network always forms in equilibrium but also ensures that...

We analyze a model of network formation where the costs of forming links are publicly known but an individual's benefits are not known to the social planner. The objective is to design a mechanism which not only ensures that an efficient network always forms in equilibrium but also ensures that...

This paper addresses the following question: Does competition enhance efficiency in markets with quality uncertainty? Using the mechanism design methodology, we characterize the maximal achievable level of efficiency in such markets, and then use this characterization to analyze how maximal...

We propose two sequential mechanisms for efficient production of public goods. Our analysis differs from the existing literature in allowing for the presence of multiple public goods and in also being “simple.” While both mechanisms ensure efficiency, the payoffs in the first mechanism are...