Researchers have long proposed using economic approaches to resource
allocation in computer systems. However, few of these proposals became
operational, let alone commercial. Questions persist about the
economic approach regarding its assumptions, value, applicability, and
relevance to system design. The goal of this paper is to answer these
questions. We find that market-based resource allocation is
useful, and more importantly, that mechanism design and system design
should be integrated to produce systems that are both economically and
computationally efficient.