Strategy-proof allocation mechanisms for public good economies∗

We study the properties of mechanisms for deciding upon the provision of public goods when the feasible set is exogenously given (by financial and/or technological constraints), and individuals ’ preferences are represented by con-tinuous, increasing and concave utility functions. We establish a result analog to the Gibbard-Satterthwaite Theorem: strategy-proof mechanisms are dicta-torial. Further, efficient and strategy-proof mechanisms are strongly dictatorial (i.e., maximize the dictator’s welfare on the entire feasible set). ∗Financial support from the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, grant SEC2001-0973, is gratefully acknowledged. 1