Costly offers and the equilibration properties of the multiple unit double auction under conditions of unpredictable shifts of demand and supply

The paper reports on the behavior of markets in which a cost is imposed in the form of a tax on bids and asks (but not contracts) that are tendered in the market. The markets were nonstationary in the sense that market demand and market supply shifted unpredictably in each period. The results are as follows: (1) A market equilibration process is observed across the periods of nonstationary markets. (2) The price discovery process in the costly offer condition was 'incomplete' relative to the free offer case. (3) Price equilibration with the offer cost was slower and efficiencies were reduced.