Should We Relax Stability in Matching Markets?

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Bertsimas, Dimitris, Gao, Carol
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Bertsimas, Dimitris
Gao, Carol
author_facet Bertsimas, Dimitris
Gao, Carol
contents Centralized assignment markets have historically relied on Deferred-Acceptance (DA) algorithms, which do not incorporate multiple objectives into the assignment. In this work, we propose an optimization-based many-to-one assignment algorithm that explores the trade-offs between minimizing the number of blocking pairs in the match and other important objectives. In order to scale to high-dimensional problems, we develop an algorithm using inverse optimization to obtain the optimal cost vector that implicitly optimizes for stability. This is empirically tested on two application areas for which the DA algorithm is widely used: school assignment and medical residency match. Computational tests on a simulated Boston Public Schools (BPS) match show that this method effectively reduces transportation cost and increases number of students receiving an offer in the first round of match at the expense of a small percentage of blocking pairs. Similar improvement in the number of couples matched to the same location is observed in a synthetic residency match.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_14475
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Should We Relax Stability in Matching Markets?
Bertsimas, Dimitris
Gao, Carol
Optimization and Control
Centralized assignment markets have historically relied on Deferred-Acceptance (DA) algorithms, which do not incorporate multiple objectives into the assignment. In this work, we propose an optimization-based many-to-one assignment algorithm that explores the trade-offs between minimizing the number of blocking pairs in the match and other important objectives. In order to scale to high-dimensional problems, we develop an algorithm using inverse optimization to obtain the optimal cost vector that implicitly optimizes for stability. This is empirically tested on two application areas for which the DA algorithm is widely used: school assignment and medical residency match. Computational tests on a simulated Boston Public Schools (BPS) match show that this method effectively reduces transportation cost and increases number of students receiving an offer in the first round of match at the expense of a small percentage of blocking pairs. Similar improvement in the number of couples matched to the same location is observed in a synthetic residency match.
title Should We Relax Stability in Matching Markets?
topic Optimization and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.14475