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Capacity design in school choice

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  • Afacan, Mustafa Oğuz
  • Dur, Umut
  • Van der Linden, Martin

Abstract

We study a new variant of the school choice problem in which capacities can be altered by distributing additional seats across schools in response to students' reported preferences. We show that heuristic solutions to this capacity design problem can be inefficient, even if they focus on allocating seats to the most demanded schools. We introduce a simple class of algorithms that, in the problem where additional seats can be distributed, characterizes the set of efficient matchings among those that respect priorities. We also investigate the incentive properties of this class of efficient algorithms.

Suggested Citation

  • Afacan, Mustafa Oğuz & Dur, Umut & Van der Linden, Martin, 2024. "Capacity design in school choice," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 277-291.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:gamebe:v:146:y:2024:i:c:p:277-291
    DOI: 10.1016/j.geb.2024.05.002
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    School choice; Matching theory;

    JEL classification:

    • C78 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Bargaining Theory; Matching Theory
    • D47 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Market Design
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General

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