# A Geometric Analysis of Gains from Trade

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.06469 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.06469/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 8 Aug 2025.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [A New Lower Bound for the Random Offerer Mechanism in Bilateral Trade using AI-Guided Evolutionary Search](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.08679/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We provide a geometric proof that the random proposer mechanism is a 4-approximation to the first-best gains from trade in bilateral exchange. We then refine this geometric analysis to recover the state-of-the-art approximation ratio of 3.15.