Publications

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May 1997
Article

Self-Interest and Fairness in Problems of Resource Allocation

By: K. A. Diekmann, S. M. Samuels, L. Ross and M. H. Bazerman

Keywords: Resource Allocation; Problems and Challenges; Fairness

January 1971 (Revised November 1975)
Background Note

Linear Programming: A Technique for Analyzing Resource Allocation Problems

By: Paul W. Marshall

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Mathematical Methods; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques

June 2005
Article

Compensatory Transfers in Two-Player Decision Problems

By: Jerry R. Green

This paper presents an axiomatic characterization of a family of solutions to two-player quasi-linear social choice problems. In these problems the players select a single action from a set available to them. They may also transfer money between... View Details

Keywords: Bargaining; Cost Allocation; Decision Making

Research Summary

Fairness and Efficiency in Resource Allocation

In studying the relationship of fairness and efficiency, Professor Trichakis takes the novel approach of looking at varied industries for unifying factors, and he pays special attention to inequities by incorporating both quantitative work in social welfare and the... View Details

21 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Solving the Marketing Resources Allocation Puzzle

allocation decisions—in essence, a way to organize their thoughts. Basically, all marketing allocation problems need to be addressed in two steps. In the first step, an... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

2009
Working Paper

Corrigendum to 'Resource-Monotonicity for House Allocation Problems'

By: Bettina-Elisabeth Klaus and Lars Ehlers

Ehlers and Klaus (2003) study so-called house allocation problems and claim to characterize all rules satisfying efficiency, independence of irrelevant objects, and resource-monotonicity on two preference domains (Ehlers and Klaus, 2003, Theorem 1).... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Resource Allocation

06 Nov 2013
What Do You Think?

Is Top-Down Resource Allocation on the Rise?

Summing Up Is Business Agility a Product of Top-Down or Bottom-Up Resource Allocation? Respondents to this month's column provided possible explanations for greater reliance on top-down resource allocation processes (RAPs) while reminding... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

February 2024
Article

An Economic Framework for Vaccine Prioritization

By: Mohammad Akbarpour, Eric Budish, Piotr Dworczak and Scott Duke Kominers

We propose an economic framework for determining the optimal allocation of a scarce supply of vaccines that become gradually available during a public health crisis, such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Agents differ in observable and unobservable characteristics, and the... View Details

Keywords: Vaccine; Fairness; Public Finance; Public Goods; Allocation Problems; Allocative Efficiency; Allocation Rules; Social Welfare; Pandemics; Inequality; COVID-19; COVID-19 Pandemic; Public Sector; Resource Allocation; Market Design; Marketplace Matching; Public Administration Industry

SSRN

06 Oct 2003
Research & Ideas

The Problem with Hedge Funds

claims to have but really doesn't—any more than the mutual funds had expertise in picking dot-com stocks. The banks argue that they have expertise allowing them to pick the better hedge funds in which to invest. And they provide statistical models that supposedly View Details

Keywords: by D. Quinn Mills

09 Feb 2016
News

Applying Business Principles to Military Problems

Donald Reidy (MBA 1990) is director of strategic planning and resource allocation for the Naval Special Warfare Command, in California. In this video, he talks about applying business management principles learned at HBS to his role in... View Details

01 Dec 1998
News

Year 2000 Computer Problem and You: Disaster for Some, Lessons for All

people and process as much as technology. So there's more to the Y2K problem than technology? Definitely. You can tell a lot about a company by how it's reacting to the Y2K problem. An organization whose people failed to see how it would... View Details

On the Efficiency-Fairness Trade-Off

How does one approach the problem of designing the "right" objective for a given resource allocation problem? The notion of what is right can be fairly nebulous; we consider two issues that we see as key: efficiency and fairness. We approach the problem of designing... View Details

December 2012
Article

On the Efficiency-Fairness Trade-Off

By: Dimitris Bertsimas, Vivek F. Farias and Nikolaos Trichakis

This paper deals with a basic issue: How does one approach the problem of designing the "right" objective for a given resource allocation problem? The notion of what is right can be fairly nebulous; we consider two issues that we see as key: efficiency and fairness. We... View Details

Keywords: Decision Support; Cost vs Benefits; Fairness; Resource Allocation; Performance Efficiency; Air Transportation Industry

We study resource allocation problems that involve multiple self-interested parties and a central decision maker. We introduce and study the price of fairness, which is the... View Details

January – February 2011
Article

The Price of Fairness

By: Dimitris Bertsimas, Vivek F. Farias and Nikolaos Trichakis

In this paper we study resource allocation problems that involve multiple self-interested parties or players and a central decision maker. We introduce and study the price of fairness, which is the relative system efficiency loss under a "fair" allocation assuming that... View Details

Keywords: Price; Fairness

November 2023
Article

Algorithmic Mechanism Design with Investment

By: Mohammad Akbarpour, Scott Duke Kominers, Kevin Michael Li, Shengwu Li and Paul Milgrom

We study the investment incentives created by truthful mechanisms that allocate resources using approximation algorithms. Some approximation algorithms guarantee nearly 100% of the optimal welfare, but have only a zero guarantee when one bidder can invest before... View Details

Keywords: Mechanism Design; Market Design; Auctions

Article

Optimal Value and Growth Tilts in Long-Horizon Portfolios

By: Jakub W. Jurek and Luis M. Viceira

We develop an analytical solution to the dynamic portfolio choice problem of an investor with power utility defined over wealth at a finite horizon, who faces a time-varying investment opportunity set, parameterized using a flexible vector autoregression. We apply this... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Private Equity; Investment; Investment Portfolio; Asset Pricing; Value

September 2001
Background Note

Financial Reporting Environment, The

By: Paul M. Healy, Amy P. Hutton, Robert S. Kaplan and Krishna G. Palepu

Provides a framework for understanding the role of financial reporting and various intermediaries as mechanisms for reducing both adverse selection and moral hazard problems in capital markets. Financial reports reduce adverse selection by providing basic information... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Capital Markets; Venture Capital; Corporate Disclosure; Conflict of Interests

Educators

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Oct 2020
Conference Presentation

Optimal, Truthful, and Private Securities Lending

By: Emily Diana, Michael J. Kearns, Seth Neel and Aaron Leon Roth

We consider a fundamental dynamic allocation problem motivated by the problem of securities lending in financial markets, the mechanism underlying the short selling of stocks. A lender would like to distribute a finite number of identical copies of some scarce resource... View Details

Keywords: Differential Privacy; Mechanism Design; Finance; Mathematical Methods