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Partial Identification of the Valuation Distribution in Sequential English Auctions

Dongwoo Kim, Kyoo il Kim, Pallavi Pal

arXiv 14 May 2026 · Econometrics

arXiv:2605.14400 · PDF · DOI · OpenAlex · Extracted main text

Abstract

This paper extends the incomplete model of Haile and Tamer (2003) from static English auctions to sequential English auctions. Because bidders may wait for future opportunities, the static condition that bidders do not let rivals win at beatable prices need not hold. We replace it with a dynamic opportunity-cost restriction, yielding nonparametric valuation bounds without solving a dynamic equilibrium. Sharp bounds are also characterized. We propose a novel moment-condition inversion estimator that pools auctions with heterogeneous bidder counts, mitigating finite-sample instability of order statistics approaches and admitting analytical standard errors and smooth confidence intervals. Applications to Korean wholesale used-car auctions and Cars and Bids online auctions deliver informative bounds. Counterfactual analyses show that the option to wait lowers first-period revenue by 8--11% in the Korean market, that increasing effective competition from 8 to 20 serious bidders in Cars and Bids raises seller revenue by 40--65%, and that maximin reserve prices vary substantially across vehicle clusters.

Citation extraction

52
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in-text mentions
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distinct cited
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appendix boundary found by appendix_command · 84% of the source is main text. Read the extracted text to check this.

Most heavily cited references

The works this paper leans on most, across its whole bibliography — not restricted to papers in our corpus. Ranked by composite intensity, which combines how often a work is mentioned, how many sections mention it, and how much of that falls in the main text rather than the appendix.

ReferenceIntensityMentionsSectionsMain text
1Haile, Philip A and Tamer, Elie (2003) Inference with an incomplete model of English auctions1.00054100%
2Kittsteiner, Thomas and Nikutta, Jörg and Winter, Eyal (2004) Declining valuations in sequential auctions0.84333100%
3Menzel, Konrad and Morganti, Paolo (2013) Large sample properties for estimators based on the order statistics approach in auctions0.84333100%
4Chesher, Andrew and Rosen, Adam M (2017) Generalized instrumental variable models0.7373367%
5Elmaghraby, Wedad (2003) The importance of ordering in sequential auctions0.73732100%
6Shi, Fanqi and Xing, Yiqing (2022) Implementing optimal outcomes through sequential auctions0.73732100%
7Kim, Kyoo il and Lee, Joonsuk (2014) Nonparametric estimation and testing of the symmetric IPV framework with unknown number of bidders self0.64422100%
8Imbens, Guido W and Manski, Charles F (2004) Confidence intervals for partially identified parameters0.64422100%
9Milgrom, Paul R and Weber, Robert J (1982) A theory of auctions and competitive bidding0.64422100%
10Chernozhukov, Victor and Lee, Sokbae and Rosen, Adam M (2013) Intersection bounds: Estimation and inference0.58531100%

Showing the top 10 of 52 scored citations.