In a sequencing problem with linear time cost, Suijs (1996) proved that it is possible to achieve first best. By first best we mean that one can find mechanisms that satisfy efficiency of decision, dominant strategy incentive compatibility and budget balancedness. In this paper we show that...

We analyse a (differentiated good) industry where an incumbent firm owns a networkgood (essential input) and faces potential competition in the (downstream) retailmarket. Unlike the traditional approach, we consider a scenario where the decision tocompete or not in the downstream segment is...

In this paper we analyze sequencing situations under incomplete information where agents have interdependent costs. We first argue why Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (or VCG) mechanism fails to implement a simple sequencing problem in dominant strategies. Given this impossibility, we try to implement...

In mechanism design problems under incomplete information, it is generally difficult to find decision problems that are first best implementable. A decision problem under incomplete information is first best implementable if there exists a mechanism that extracts the private information and...

In this paper we consider the problem of financing infrastructure when the regulator faces a budget constraint. The optimal budget-constrained mechanism satisfies four properties. The first property is bunching at the top, that is the more efficient firms produce the same quantity. The second...

Why do political constituencies delegate decision power to representative assemblies? And how is the size of such assemblies determined? We analyze these questions of constitutional design in a model with voters learning their preferred alternative only after engaging in costly information...

In this paper we consider the problem of regulating an open access essential facility. A vertically integrated firm owns an essential input and operates on the downstream market under the roof of a regulatory mechanism. There is a potential entrant in the downstream market. Both competitors use...

We consider a differentiated product duopoly where a regulated firm competes with a private firm. The instrument of regulation is the level of privatization. First, the regulator determines the level of privatization to maximize social welfare. Then both firms endogenously choose the mode of...

This paper characterizes lexicographic preferences over alternatives that are identified by a finite number of attributes. We say two alternatives are 'totally different' if they are different with respect to every attribute. Our characterization is based on two key concepts: a weaker notion of...

We present a microeconomic analysis of subsistence consumption in a standard consumer theory setting. We define 'subsistence and saturation induced irrelevance' (SSI) preferences for an individual who makes choices over two goods: a basic good and a non-basic good. The basic good has two key...