Fair Allocation with Binary Valuations for Mixed Divisible and Indivisible Goods

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Kawase, Yasushi, Nishimura, Koichi, Sumita, Hanna
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Kawase, Yasushi
Nishimura, Koichi
Sumita, Hanna
author_facet Kawase, Yasushi
Nishimura, Koichi
Sumita, Hanna
contents The fair allocation of mixed goods, consisting of both divisible and indivisible goods, has been a prominent topic of study in economics and computer science. We define an allocation as fair if its utility vector minimizes a symmetric strictly convex function. This fairness criterion includes standard ones such as maximum egalitarian social welfare and maximum Nash social welfare. We address the problem of minimizing a given symmetric strictly convex function when agents have binary valuations. If only divisible goods or only indivisible goods exist, the problem is known to be solvable in polynomial time. In this paper, firstly, we demonstrate that the problem is NP-hard even when all indivisible goods are identical. This NP-hardness is established even for maximizing egalitarian social welfare or Nash social welfare. Secondly, we provide a polynomial-time algorithm for the problem when all divisible goods are identical. To accomplish these, we exploit the proximity structure inherent in the problem. This provides theoretically important insights into the hybrid domain of convex optimization that incorporates both discrete and continuous aspects.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2306_05986
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Fair Allocation with Binary Valuations for Mixed Divisible and Indivisible Goods
Kawase, Yasushi
Nishimura, Koichi
Sumita, Hanna
Computer Science and Game Theory
Data Structures and Algorithms
The fair allocation of mixed goods, consisting of both divisible and indivisible goods, has been a prominent topic of study in economics and computer science. We define an allocation as fair if its utility vector minimizes a symmetric strictly convex function. This fairness criterion includes standard ones such as maximum egalitarian social welfare and maximum Nash social welfare. We address the problem of minimizing a given symmetric strictly convex function when agents have binary valuations. If only divisible goods or only indivisible goods exist, the problem is known to be solvable in polynomial time. In this paper, firstly, we demonstrate that the problem is NP-hard even when all indivisible goods are identical. This NP-hardness is established even for maximizing egalitarian social welfare or Nash social welfare. Secondly, we provide a polynomial-time algorithm for the problem when all divisible goods are identical. To accomplish these, we exploit the proximity structure inherent in the problem. This provides theoretically important insights into the hybrid domain of convex optimization that incorporates both discrete and continuous aspects.
title Fair Allocation with Binary Valuations for Mixed Divisible and Indivisible Goods
topic Computer Science and Game Theory
Data Structures and Algorithms
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.05986