A Guide to Auctions : Special Reference to Spectrum Auctions

Auction is a mechanism for selling goods and services. Today, auctions are employed in a variety of transactions that extend from online sales to sales of public resources such as spectrum. The ubiquity of auctions has generated tremendous interest among economist and public alike. It has also led to many open questions about the auction design.The paper reviews the seminal literature on auctions, focusing on its basic models, and issues involved in auction design. The primary objective of the review is to offer some critical thoughts on auction design for its application in spectrum allocation