La décroissance des prix au cours d'enchères séquentielles: sources et mesures

Decreasing Prices in Sequential Auctions: Sources and Measurement by Olivier Chanel and Stéphanie Vincent Price trends in sequential auctions are a major issue for all players concerned: buyers, sellers and auctioneers. When price trends no longer follow a random walk pattern, they reveal missed opportunities and therefore constitute an "anomaly." First we consider the explanations provided by auction theory for the decreasing prices revealed by some empirical studies. These explanations relate to assumptions about the buyers' preferences and constraints, as well as to the institutional rules and the organisation of the auction per se. Then, we look at the various techniques for measuring price trends in sequential auctions. Finally, we use simulated samples and data from wine auctions to verify their ability to aggregate individual price variations correctly. Resampling techniques enable us to analyse statistical properties and construct tests.