Add to ORKGThe theory of auctions has ignored the fact that often auction designers, not the principal, design auctions. In a multi attribute auction, the auction designer may bias his subjective evaluation of quality or distort the relative weights of the various attributes to favor a specific bidder, an ancient concern in the procurement of weapons, in the auctioning of government contracts and in the purchase of electricity by regulated power companies. The paper analyzes the steps to be taken to reduce the possibility of favoritism. It is first shown that in the absence of favoritism, quality differentials among firms are more likely to be ignored if the auction designer has imperfect information about the firm's costs. Second, if the auction desi...