This work includes three papers, focusing on online ratings and auction theory. The first chapter, Why Do People Write Reviews? Theory and Evidence on Online Ratings examines what motivates consumers to provide uncompensated ratings for products on the internet. It finds that both a desire to inform other buyers and to punish or reward sellers are at play.;The second chapter Optimal Availability of Online Ratings looks at what role consumer ratings have in determining market outcomes. It shows that more information for buyers does not always lead to increased buyer welfare, and that in some cases it may be preferable to keep some buyers uninformed of existing ratings.;The third chapter All Equilibria of the Multi-Unit Vickrey Auction characterizes all Nash Equilibria for the Vickrey auction with three or more bidders and any number of units. It shows that all equilibria fall into one of two basic families, and that there cannot be equilibria of any other type.
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