Three essays on auctions and innovation [Elektronische Ressource] / von Thomas Giebe

Three Essays on Auctions and InnovationDISSERTATIONzur Erlangung des akademischen Gradesdoctor rerum politicarum(Doktor der Wirtschaftswissenschaft)eingereicht an derWirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultätder Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinvonDipl.-Volksw. Thomas Giebegeboren am 09.03.1974 in BerlinPräsident der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin:Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Christoph MarkschiesDekan der Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät:Prof. Oliver Günther, Ph.D.Gutachter:1. Prof. Dr. Elmar Wolfstetter2. Prof. Dr. Ulrich KameckeTag des Kolloquiums: 25. August 2009AbstractInnovation is central to development and economic growth. Innovation hap-pens within some institutional framework. Auctions and auction-like mech-anisms are institutions that organize transactions between economic agents.In the face of private information, they provide a means of revealing part ofthat information by inducing competition between agents. If well designed,they make use of the revealed information in order to achieve a certain ob-jective, e.g., to maximize profit or to allocate efficiently.In three essays, this dissertation studies the use of auctions in the contextof innovation. Chapter 1 looks at the widely used practice of allocating gov-ernment R&D subsidies to private companies. We point out flaws of thatpractice and propose improvements that can be adopted separately or incombination. Our proposals are tested in controlled lab experiments and bysimulation.