Efficiency and strategy-proofness in multi-unit object allocation problems with non-quasi-linear preferences: A positive result

Abstract

We consider the problem of allocating multiple units of an object to agents with payments. Agents demand at most two units, and have preferences that are not necessarily quasi-linear. We propose a new rule that we call the generalized Vickrey rule with initial ownership of single units, and establish it satisfies efficiency, strategy-proofness, and individual rationality. This contrasts with recent impossibility results for multi-demand non-quasi-linear preferences showing that no rule satisfies the three properties together with no subsidy for losers (Baisa, 2020; Shinozaki et al., 2022).