Benchmarks in Search Markets
研究了基准在场外交易市场价格透明度中的作用，发现基准能通过增加有益交易量、改善交易匹配和降低搜索成本来提高社会福利，并分析了交易商引入基准的动机。
ABSTRACT We characterize the role of benchmarks in price transparency of over‐the‐counter markets. A benchmark can raise social surplus by increasing the volume of beneficial trade, facilitating more efficient matching between dealers and customers, and reducing search costs. Although the market transparency promoted by benchmarks reduces dealers' profit margins, dealers may nonetheless introduce a benchmark to encourage greater market participation by investors. Low‐cost dealers may also introduce a benchmark to increase their market share relative to high‐cost dealers. We construct a revelation mechanism that maximizes welfare subject to search frictions, and show conditions under which it coincides with announcing the benchmark.