Loss aversion in sequential auctions

Abstract

I analyze sequential auctions with expectations‐based loss‐averse bidders who have independent private values and unit demand. Equilibrium bids are history dependent and subject to a “discouragement effect”: the higher is the winning bid in the current round, the less aggressive are the bids of the remaining bidders in the next round. Moreover, because they experience a loss in each round in which they fail to obtain an object, bidders are willing to pay a premium to win sooner rather than later. This desire to win earlier leads prices to decline in equilibrium. I also show how various disclosure policies regarding the outcome of earlier auctions affect equilibrium bids, and that sequential and simultaneous auctions are neither bidder‐payoff equivalent nor revenue equivalent.