English
Related papers

Related papers: A Model of Competitive Assortment Planning Algorit…

200 papers

We consider some classical optimization problems in path planning and network transport, and we introduce new auction-based algorithms for their optimal and suboptimal solution. The algorithms are based on mathematical ideas that are…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2022-07-21 Dimitri Bertsekas

Assortment optimization refers to the problem of designing a slate of products to offer potential customers, such as stocking the shelves in a convenience store. The price of each product is fixed in advance, and a probabilistic choice…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2017-11-09 Nicole Immorlica , Brendan Lucier , Jieming Mao , Vasilis Syrgkanis , Christos Tzamos

This paper explores the integration of strategic optimization methods in search advertising, focusing on ad ranking and bidding mechanisms within E-commerce platforms. By employing a combination of reinforcement learning and evolutionary…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2024-05-30 Chang Zhou , Yang Zhao , Jin Cao , Yi Shen , Xiaoling Cui , Chiyu Cheng

In the rapidly evolving landscape of eCommerce, Artificial Intelligence (AI) based pricing algorithms, particularly those utilizing Reinforcement Learning (RL), are becoming increasingly prevalent. This rise has led to an inextricable…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2024-06-06 Michael Schlechtinger , Damaris Kosack , Franz Krause , Heiko Paulheim

Search and matching increasingly takes place on online platforms. These platforms have elements of centralized and decentralized matching; platforms can alter the search process for its users, but are unable to eliminate search frictions…

Theoretical Economics · Economics 2025-06-11 Cole Wittbrodt

This paper studies Markov perfect equilibria in a repeated duopoly model where sellers choose algorithms. An algorithm is a mapping from the competitor's price to own price. Once set, algorithms respond quickly. Customers arrive randomly…

Theoretical Economics · Economics 2022-07-04 Rohit Lamba , Sergey Zhuk

Motivated by the applications of rental services in e-commerce, we consider revenue maximization in online assortment of reusable resources for a stream of arriving consumers with different types. We design competitive online algorithms…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2025-12-09 Yiding Feng , Rad Niazadeh , Amin Saberi

In markets where customers tend to purchase baskets of products rather than single products, assortment optimization is a major challenge for retailers. Removing a product from a retailer's assortment can result in a severe drop in…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2025-11-18 Andrey Vasilyev , Sebastian Maier , Ralf W. Seifert

How does competition in markets for information affect the creation and division of surplus? We study this question in a search environment in which an agent searches sequentially for a high-quality good and learns about the quality of…

Theoretical Economics · Economics 2026-05-26 Teddy Mekonnen , Bobak Pakzad-Hurson

We introduce a new class of combinatorial markets in which agents have covering constraints over resources required and are interested in delay minimization. Our market model is applicable to several settings including scheduling, cloud…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2017-04-17 Nikhil Devanur , Jugal Garg , Ruta Mehta , Vijay V. Vazirani , Sadra Yazdanbod

Assortment optimization is a fundamental challenge in modern retail and recommendation systems, where the goal is to select a subset of products that maximizes expected revenue under complex customer choice behaviors. While recent advances…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2026-03-11 Miao Lu , Yuxuan Han , Han Zhong , Zhengyuan Zhou , Jose Blanchet

Pricing algorithms have demonstrated the capability to learn tacit collusion that is largely unaddressed by current regulations. Their increasing use in markets, including oligopolistic industries with a history of collusion, calls for…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2025-02-26 Paul Friedrich , Barna Pásztor , Giorgia Ramponi

We introduce pricing formulas for competition and collusion models of two-sided markets with an outside option. For the competition model, we find conditions under which prices and consumer surplus may increase or decrease if the outside…

General Economics · Economics 2025-05-12 Cristian Chica , Yinglong Guo , Gilad Lerman

We propose a fresh `meta-game' perspective on the problem of algorithmic collusion in pricing games a la Bertrand. Economists have interpreted the fact that algorithms can learn to price collusively as tacit collusion. We argue instead that…

Theoretical Economics · Economics 2025-12-16 Cesare Carissimo , Fryderyk Falniowski , Siavash Rahimi , Heinrich Nax

In classic adversarial online resource allocation problems such as AdWords, customers arrive online while products are given offline with a fixed initial inventory. To ensure revenue guarantees under uncertainty, the decision maker must…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2025-11-21 Yiding Feng , Rad Niazadeh , Amin Saberi

Over the past decade, crowdsourcing has emerged as a cheap and efficient method of obtaining solutions to simple tasks that are difficult for computers to solve but possible for humans. The popularity and promise of crowdsourcing markets…

Social and Information Networks · Computer Science 2013-11-27 Aleksandrs Slivkins , Jennifer Wortman Vaughan

Artificial intelligence algorithms are increasingly used by firms to set prices. Previous research shows that they can exhibit collusive behaviour, but how quickly they can do so has so far remained an open question. I show that a modern…

General Economics · Economics 2026-04-20 Kevin Michael Frick

Evaluating performance across optimization algorithms on many problems presents a complex challenge due to the diversity of numerical scales involved. Traditional data processing methods, such as hypothesis testing and Bayesian inference,…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2024-09-10 Yunpeng Jinng , Qunfeng Liu

Algorithmic price collusion facilitated by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms raises significant concerns. We examine how AI agents using Q-learning engage in tacit collusion in two-sided markets. Our experiments reveal that AI-driven…

General Economics · Economics 2024-07-08 Cristian Chica , Yinglong Guo , Gilad Lerman

Though competitive analysis is often a very good tool for the analysis of online algorithms, sometimes it does not give any insight and sometimes it gives counter-intuitive results. Much work has gone into exploring other performance…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2017-06-14 Joan Boyar , Leah Epstein , Lene M. Favrholdt , Kim S. Larsen , Asaf Levin