Cost overrun is ubiquitous in public procurement. We argue that this can be the result of a constraint optimal award … a simple design initially enhances competition in the auction. Moreover, the procurer cannot benefit from using a multi …-dimensional auction, as the optimal scoring rule depends only on the price. …

procurement auction formats can take advantage of bidders' willingness-to-pay-willingness-to-accept disparity. In a laboratory … experiment, we compare four different second-price auction formats for procuring a good. The four formats are a sealed …-bid auction and three di erent descending-clock auctions. We assume that a bidder's willingness-to-accept exceeds his willingness …