11.1 Collusion in Second-Price Auctions 163
It is also individually rational—no member of the ring can do better by not
participating since, no matter what the bidder’s value, the gains from participat-
ing are positive. Its major weakness is that it needs an outside agency to finance
its workings. It is not an ex post balanced budget mechanism.
A BALANCED BUDGET MECHANISM
Is efficient collusion feasible without the need for outside financing? To address
this question it is useful to think of the bidding ring as facing an allocation
problem: Who should be awarded the “right to represent” the cartel at the main
auction? We will refer to this right as the ticket, thereby avoiding confusion with
the object being offered for sale at the main auction. The