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Affirmative Action with Overlapping Reserves: Equity, Fairness, and Complementarity

Author

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  • Cyril Rouault

    (Université Paris Saclay, CEPS - Centre d'Economie de l'ENS Paris-Saclay - Université Paris-Saclay - ENS Paris Saclay - Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay)

Abstract

Affirmative action policies, by establishing representation thresholds for protected groups, seek to balance fairness and equity in various assignment problems. Fairness is maintained by prioritizing individuals based on merit scores, while equity is ensured through guaranteed group representation. We focus on overlapping reserves, where individuals can belong to multiple groups, and introduce the Maximal Score and Minimum Guarantee (MSMG) choice rule, which upholds representation requirements while preserving fairness. We define the score of an assignment as the sum of the merit scores of the selected individuals. We demonstrate that the assignment produced by the MSMG choice rule achieves the highest possible score among all fair assignments that satisfy the given representation thresholds.

Suggested Citation

  • Cyril Rouault, 2025. "Affirmative Action with Overlapping Reserves: Equity, Fairness, and Complementarity," Working Papers hal-05052801, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-05052801
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05052801v1
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