• Media type: Report; E-Book
  • Title: Optimal Accuracy of Unbiased Tullock Contests with Two Heterogeneous Players
  • Contributor: Sahm, Marco [Author]
  • Published: Munich: Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), 2022
  • Language: English
  • Keywords: heterogeneous valuations ; all-pay auction ; Tullock contest ; accuracy ; discrimination ; optimal design ; D72 ; C72
  • Origination:
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  • Description: I characterize the optimal accuracy level r of an unbiased Tullock contest between two players with heterogeneous prize valuations. The designer maximizes the winning probability of the strong player or the winner's expected valuation by choosing a contest with an all-pay auction equilibrium (r ≥ 2). By contrast, if she aims at maximizing the expected aggregate effort or the winner's expected effort, she will choose a contest with a pure-strategy equilibrium, and the optimal accuracy level r < 2 decreases in the players' heterogeneity. Finally, a contest designer who faces a tradeoff between selection quality and minimum (maximum) effort will never (may) chose a contest with a semi-mixed equilibrium.
  • Access State: Open Access