This is the true story of the actual use of a formal, decentralized division procedure to allocate silver heirlooms among eight grandchildren fairly and efficiently without distasteful direct monetary payments. Each grandchild's stated preferences for objects in contention were roughly...

We develop an indirect method to estimate utility and willingness to pay (WTP) for reductions in the risk of death at various ages. Using a life-cycle model of consumption, we assume that an individual sets his consumption level each year so as to maximize his expected lifetime utility....

Most large organizations allocate resources by means of fixed budgets: each subunit is normally entitled to spend a defined amount over a fixed period, usually one year. Fixed budgets create clear incentives for subunits to control costs. Yet such arrangements create major incentives for dynamic...

The seller posted-price procedure is probably the most common method for making transactions in modern economies. We analyze the performance of posted pricing for transactions having significant common-value elements. In a model of two-sided private information, we characterize the fully...

Many recommendation and decision processes depend on eliciting evaluations of opportunities, products, and vendors. A scoring system is devised that induces honest reporting of feedback. Each rater merely reports a signal, and the system applies proper scoring rules to the implied posterior...