A Note on Relaxation and Rounding in Algorithmic Mechanism Design

Abstract: In this note, we revisit the \emph{relaxation and rounding} technique employed several times in algorithmic mechanism design. We try to introduce a general framework which covers the most significant algorithms in mechanism design that use the relaxation and rounding technique. We believe that this framework is not only a generalization of the existing algorithms but also can be leveraged for further results in algorithmic mechanism design. Before presenting the framework, we briefly define algorithmic mechanism design, its connections to game theory and computer science, and the challenges in the field.