LLM agents fail to converge in double auctions, allocate less efficiently than humans

WillRinehart · x · 2026-09-22

An arXiv paper replicates classic double-auction experiments with LLM agents replacing humans. Markets populated by LLMs converge slower or not at all toward equilibrium, yielding less efficient allocations, with substantial heterogeneity across model families and market roles. Lexical analysis of CoT traces shows trade execution correlates with a shift from strategic reasoning to urgency. The testing framework is publicly released.

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