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Stable Improvement Cycle Mechanism Versus Efficiency-adjusted Deferred Acceptance Mechanism beyond Weak Priority Orders

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  • Minoru Kitahara
  • Yasunori Okumura

Abstract

This paper compares the stable improvement cycles (SIC) mechanism of Erdil and Ergin (2008) with the efficiency-adjusted deferred acceptance (EADA) mechanism of Kesten (2010) in school choice problems with incomplete priorities. When school priorities are strict partial orders, we show that the EADA mechanism produces a constrained efficient matching. Combined with earlier results for the SIC mechanism, this establishes the outcome equivalence of the two mechanisms: the sets of matchings attainable under them coincide. We then move beyond transitivity and consider acyclic priority relations. On this broader domain, neither mechanism is guaranteed to produce a constrained efficient matching, but their failures take opposite forms. The SIC mechanism may under-improve: its outcome is always stable but may be Pareto dominated by another stable matching. By contrast, the EADA mechanism may over-improve: its outcome is never Pareto dominated by any stable matching but may itself be unstable.

Suggested Citation

  • Minoru Kitahara & Yasunori Okumura, 2026. "Stable Improvement Cycle Mechanism Versus Efficiency-adjusted Deferred Acceptance Mechanism beyond Weak Priority Orders," Papers 2609.12543, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2609.12543
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Claudia Cerrone & Yoan Hermstrüwer & Onur Kesten, 2024. "School Choice with Consent: an Experiment," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(661), pages 1760-1805.
    2. Dur, Umut & Gitmez, A. Arda & Yılmaz, Özgür, 2019. "School choice under partial fairness," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 14(4), November.
    3. Atila Abdulkadiroglu & Parag A. Pathak & Alvin E. Roth, 2009. "Strategy-Proofness versus Efficiency in Matching with Indifferences: Redesigning the NYC High School Match," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(5), pages 1954-1978, December.
    4. Erdil, Aytek & Kumano, Taro, 2019. "Efficiency and stability under substitutable priorities with ties," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
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    6. Erdil, Aytek, 2014. "Strategy-proof stochastic assignment," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 146-162.
    7. Yeon‐Koo Che & Jinwoo Kim & Fuhito Kojima, 2019. "Stable Matching in Large Economies," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 87(1), pages 65-110, January.
    8. Aytek Erdil & Haluk Ergin, 2008. "What's the Matter with Tie-Breaking? Improving Efficiency in School Choice," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(3), pages 669-689, June.
    9. Atila Abdulkadiroglu & Parag A. Pathak & Alvin E. Roth, 2009. "Strategy-proofness versus Efficiency in Matching with Indifferences: Redesigning the New York City High School Match," NBER Working Papers 14864, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Kesten, Onur & Unver, Utku, 2015. "A theory of school choice lotteries," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 10(2), May.
    11. Kitahara, Minoru & Okumura, Yasunori, 2024. "Extensions of partial priorities and stability in school choice," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 1-4.
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    Cited by:

    1. Minoru Kitahara & Yasunori Okumura, 2026. "School Choice Problems with Priority Adjustments," Papers 2609.12558, arXiv.org.

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