Complementarities and Collusion in an FCC Spectrum Auction

We empirically study bidding in the C Block of the US mobile phone spectrum auctions. Spectrum auctions are conducted using a simultaneous ascending auction design that allows bidders to assemble packages of licenses with geographic complementarities. While this auction design allows the market to find complementarities, the auction might also result in an inefficient equilibrium. In addition, these auctions have equilibria where implicit collusion is sustained through threats of bidding wars. We estimate a structural model in order to test for the presence of complementarities and implicit collusion. The estimation strategy is valid under a wide variety of alternative assumptions about equilibrium in these auctions and is robust to potentially important forms of unobserved heterogeneity. We make suggestions about the design of future spectrum auctions.Technology and Industry

Measuring the Efficiency of an FCC Spectrum Auction

FCC spectrum auctions sell licenses to provide mobile phone service in designated geographic territories. We propose a method to structurally estimate the deterministic component of bidder valuations and apply it to the 1995–1996 C-block auction. We base our estimation of bidder values on a pairwise stability condition, which implies that two bidders cannot exchange licenses in a way that increases total surplus. Pairwise stability holds in many theoretical models of simultaneous ascending auctions, including some models of intimidatory collusion and demand reduction. Pairwise stability is also approximately satisfied in data that we examine from economic experiments. The lack of post-auction resale also suggests pairwise stability. Using our estimates of deterministic valuations, we measure the allocative efficiency of the C-block outcome.

Spectrum Auction Design

Spectrum auctions are used by governments to assign and price licenses for wireless communications. The standard approach is the simultaneous ascending auction, in which many related lots are auctioned simultaneously in a sequence of rounds. I analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the approach with examples from US spectrum auctions. I then present a variation, the package clock auction, adopted by the UK, which addresses many of the problems of the simultaneous ascending auction while building on its strengths. The package clock auction is a simple dynamic auction in which bidders bid on packages of lots. Most importantly, the auction allows alternative technologies that require the spectrum to be organized in different ways to compete in a technology-neutral auction. In addition, the pricing rule and information policy are carefully tailored to mitigate gaming behavior. An activity rule based on revealed preference promotes price discovery throughout the clock stage of the auction. Truthful bidding is encouraged, which simplifies bidding and improves efficiency. Experimental tests and early auctions confirm the advantages of the approach.Auctions, spectrum auctions, market design, package auction, clock auction, combinatorial auction

Spectrum Auctions

Auctions have emerged as the primary means of assigning spectrum licenses to companies wishing to provide wireless communication services. Since July 1994, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has conducted 33 spectrum auctions, assigning thousands of licenses to hundreds of firms. Countries throughout the world are conducting similar auctions. I review the current state of spectrum auctions. Both the design and performance of these auctions are addressed.Auctions, Spectrum Auctions, Multiple Item Auctions

Radio Spectrum and the Disruptive Clarity OF Ronald Coase.

In the Federal Communications Commission, Ronald Coase (1959) exposed deep foundations via normative argument buttressed by astute historical observation. The government controlled scarce frequencies, issuing sharply limited use rights. Spillovers were said to be otherwise endemic. Coase saw that Government limited conflicts by restricting uses; property owners perform an analogous function via the "price system." The government solution was inefficient unless the net benefits of the alternative property regime were lower. Coase augured that the price system would outperform the administrative allocation system. His spectrum auction proposal was mocked by communications policy experts, opposed by industry interests, and ridiculed by policy makers. Hence, it took until July 25, 1994 for FCC license sales to commence. Today, some 73 U.S. auctions have been held, 27,484 licenses sold, and $52.6 billion paid. The reform is a textbook example of economic policy success. We examine Coase‘s seminal 1959 paper on two levels. First, we note the importance of its analytical symmetry, comparing administrative to market mechanisms under the assumption of positive transaction costs. This fundamental insight has had enormous influence within the economics profession, yet is often lost in current analyses. This analytical insight had its beginning in his acclaimed early article on the firm (Coase 1937), and continued into his subsequent treatment of social cost (Coase 1960). Second, we investigate why spectrum policies have stopped well short of the property rights regime that Coase advocated, considering rent-seeking dynamics and the emergence of new theories challenging Coase‘s property framework. One conclusion is easily rendered: competitive bidding is now the default tool in wireless license awards. By rule of thumb, about$17 billion in U.S. welfare losses have been averted. Not bad for the first 50 years of this, or any, Article appearing in Volume II of the Journal of Law & Economics.

Recommendations for the Optimal Allocation of Radio Spectrum Licenses in the European Union

Auctions are used by many organizations to assign property rights for a wide variety of goods. In our paper, we are concerned with the use of auctions by the European Union to assign radio spectrum licenses. Without state involvement, firms use the radio spectrum until its value is dissipated. Thus, it is preferable for the state to assign and enforce radio spectrum rights. Further, because of the non-competitive structure in the telecommunications market, it is also preferable for the state to assign radio spectrum rights in such a way as to encourage new entrants. Of the available allocation mechanisms, auctions are the most efficient in assigning rights and encouraging a competitive market. Of the available auction designs, a combinatorial auction provides several key advantages over others in encouraging efficient allocations, permitting new entrants, and allowing bidders to optimize dynamically. Drawing on evidence from the European Third Generation auction and the Federal Communications Commission auctions, we conclude that the European Union could improve social welfare by centrally allocating radio spectrum licenses using a combinatorial auction

Law, Finance, and Politics: The Case of India

The process of liberalisation of India's economy since 1991 has brought with it considerable development both of its financial markets and the legal institutions which support these. An influential body of recent economic work asserts that a country's 'legal origin'-as a civilian or common law jurisdiction-plays an important part in determining the development of its investor protection regulations, and consequently its financial development. An alternative theory claims that the determinants of investor protection are political, rather than legal. We use the case of India to test these theories. We find little support for the idea that India's legal heritage as a common law country has been influential in speeding the path of regulatory reforms and financial development. There is a complementarity between (i) India's relative success in services and software, (ii) the relative strength of its financial markets for outside equity, as opposed to outside debt, and (iii) the relative success of stock market regulation, as opposed to reforms of creditor rights. We conclude that political explanations have more traction in explaining the case of India than do theories based on 'legal origins'.India, Law and Finance, Investor Protection, Economic structure and financial structure

Location and product bundling in the provision of WiFi networks

WiFi promises to revolutionise how and where we access the internet. As WiFi networks are rolled out around the globe, access to the internet will no longer be through fixed networks or unsatisfactory mobile phone connections. Instead access will be through low cost wireless networks at speeds of up to 11Mbps. It is hard not to be impressed by the enthusiasm with which WiFi has been embraced. GREEN, ROSENBUSH, CROKETT and HOLMES (2003) assert that WiFi is a disruptive technology akin to telephones in the 1920s and network computers in the 1990s. WiFi is seen as both an opportunity in its own right, as well as an enabler of opportunities for others. Computer manufacturers are hoping that WiFi will increases sales of their laptops, whilst Microsoft feels that WiFi will result in users upgrading their operating systems to Windows XP. This paper seeks to understand why three companies have sought to provide WiFi