Collaborative Research: IT-Enhanced Market Design and Experiments

这项研究的目标是确定在现实信息技术(IT)环境中最能促进经济繁荣的市场模式、代理设计和复合信息服务规范。在信息技术创新和互联网爆炸性增长的推动下，全球经济正处于大规模转型之中。它正在重塑市场、消费者和企业行为，同时业务现实决定了哪些IT创新是可行的。人们对这一转变的经济和社会影响知之甚少。需要对各种类型的信息技术强化的经济环境进行重大的新研究，包括：非同步参与的市场；具有自动化代理的市场；信息技术促成的新市场模式；以及新的综合信息服务。自动化交易代理在IT驱动的市场中扮演着越来越重要的角色，他们与人类交易者的互动需要密切关注。本项目将采用的方法包括开发新的理论模型，以及在人类受试者的对照实验中对模型进行测试和改进。到目前为止，关于交易者行为和市场表现的最详细的科学知识仅限于经典的市场模式和非常简单的商品。这项研究将通过考虑更广泛的市场形式(单边拍卖、双边市场和新的混合市场)、更广泛的商品(包括新的组合IT服务产品)和更广泛的行为(包括与自动化代理的人交互)来扩展这一经典知识，测试其稳健性，并开辟新的调查路线。研究产生的科学知识将迅速传播到电子商务从业者社区，并将有助于为IT融入世界经济提供更坚实的基础。运行各种市场模式和自动化代理的平台将被纳入国家科学数字图书馆，加强教学和研究的基础设施。教学、培训和学习将直接面向担任研究助理和程序员的众多研究生；一些本科生也将帮助编程，数百人将作为实验室科目，他们将成为市场交易和控制市场代理人的经验丰富的人。鉴于校园学生的种族，以及实验室的就业历史，很大一部分教育收益可能会累积到女性和少数群体成员身上。

The objective of this research is to identify the market formats, agent designs, and composite information service specifications that, in realistic information technology (IT) environments, best promote economic prosperity. The global economy is in the midst of large-scale transformation driven by innovations in IT and the explosive growth of the Internet. IT is reshaping markets and consumer and enterprise behavior, while at the same time business realities determine which IT innovations are viable. Little is yet known about the economic and social impacts of this transformation. Significant new research is needed on various types of IT-enhanced economic environments, including: markets with asynchronous participation; markets with automated agents; new market formats enabled by IT; and new composite information services. Automated trading agents play an increasing role in the IT-enabled markets, and their interaction with human traders demands close scrutiny.The methods to be employed in this project include the development of new theoretical models and the testing and refinement of the models in controlled experiments with human subjects. To date, the most detailed scientific knowledge of trader behavior and market performance is confined to classic market formats and to very simple goods. This research will expand that classical knowledge, test its robustness, and open new lines of inquiry by considering a broader range of market formats (one-sided auctions, two-sided markets and new hybrids), a broader range of goods (including new composite IT service products), and a broader range of behavior (including human interaction with automated agents).The scientific knowledge generated by the research will disseminate swiftly into the community of e-commerce practitioners, and will help provide a sounder basis for integrating IT into the world economy. The platforms for running the various market formats and automated agents will be incorporated into the National Science Digital Library, enhancing infrastructure for teaching and research. Teaching, training and learning will be promoted directly for numerous graduate students who serve as research assistants and programmers; some undergraduates will also help with the programming and hundreds will serve as laboratory subjects who become experienced in market trading and controlling market agents. Given the ethnicity of students at the campuses, and given the history of employment at the labs, a large share of the educational benefits are likely to accrue to women and members of minority groups.