This paper uses a unique data set of Latin American paintings auctioned by Sotheby's between 1995 and 2002 to investigate several puzzles from the recent auctions literature. Our results suggest that: (1) the reputation of an artist and the provenance of the artwork, omitted variables in most...

In sequential auctions objects are sold one by one in separate auctions. These sequential auctions might be organised as sequential first-price, second-price, or English auctions. We will derive equilibrium bidding strategies for these auctions. Theoretical models suggest that prices in...

We find evidence for the behavioral biases of anchoring and loss aversion. We find that anchoring is more important for items that are resold quickly, and we find that the effect of loss aversion increases with the time that a painting is held. The evidence in favor of anchoring and loss...

Social status, or prestige, is an important motive for buying art or collectibles and for participation in charity auctions. We study a symmetric private value auction with prestige motives, in which the auction outcome is used by an outside observer to infer the bidders’ types. We elicit...

We examine the determinants of the overall sales rates at art auctions in Turkey. We use a unique dataset that covers 79 auctions that took place between January 2005 and February 2008. After controlling for auction house differences, seasonal factors and the price levels of the auctions, we...

We find evidence for the behavioral biases of anchoring and loss aversion. We find that anchoring is more important for items that are resold quickly, and we find that the effect of loss aversion increases with the time that a painting is held. The evidence in favor of anchoring and loss...

The literature on art auctions has overlooked the market for classical music manuscripts and this paper explores, for the first time, the determinants of “hammer” prices for about 360 classical music manuscripts auctioned at Sotheby’s (London) during the 1998-2009 period. We use hedonic...

We develop a theoretical analysis of the choice of firms between fixed-price offerings and uniform-price auctions for selling shares in IPOs and privatizations. We consider a setting in which a firm goes public by selling a fraction of its equity in an IPO market where insiders have private...

Using a unique dataset of art auctions on eBay, we conduct an empirical analysis of the added value of an auction's charity status. The panel structure of our dataset allows us to employ fixed effects techniques to control for observed and unobserved differences across auctions. The existing...

In Victoria, Australia individuals or firms wishing to proceed with development that involves the clearing of native vegetation are required to obtain an offset to replace the vegetation destroyed. This paper focuses on the design and testing of the electronic BushBroker exchange and the...