Privacy in Markets
42 Pages Posted: 17 Nov 2017 Last revised: 17 Nov 2021
Date Written: November 16, 2021
Abstract
Privacy is a common concern in markets. We study dynamic markets based on the uniform-price double auction with I heterogeneous traders who have private information. Traders’ demand schedules can condition on the statistics of past and current outcomes. Equilibrium strategies depend on the entire history. Limited transparency is generally necessary for equilibrium existence. With sufficiently many trading rounds, more transparent designs increase efficiency. For any information structure, one can design a privacy-preserving auction that is ex post efficient. The model allows analysis of how transparency and, more generally, the design of conditioning statistics affects equilibrium trading behavior and efficiency.
Keywords: Noncompetitive markets, Market design, Uniform-price auction, Privacy, Transparency, Contingent variables, Divisible goods, Dark pools
JEL Classification: D4, D82, G14
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation