Economists designed a new auction to sell something never sold before

In 1994 the US government needed to sell licenses for wireless spectrum, but no existing auction format handled interdependent, simultaneous items well. Economists Paul Milgrom, Robert Wilson and Preston McAfee designed the simultaneous ascending auction for the FCC, which raised billions and became the template for spectrum sales worldwide. It remains one of economic theory's clearest wins in practical market design.

— Paul Milgrom, Putting Auction Theory to Work — Cambridge University Press, 2004
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