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We characterize the symmetric equilibria of a pre-auction game
of investment in an internet ad auction environment. For a wide
class of auction formats, we show a symmetric equilibrium exists
for the pre-auction investment game, is essentially unique, and is
the same for all auction formats in the class; we give sufficient
conditions for the symmetric equilibrium to be in pure strategies,
and to achieve the efficient level of investment. Finally, we show
comparative statics results with respect to a variety of parameters.
