Abstract
The Deferred Acceptance (DA) algorithm is stable and strategy-proof, but can produce matchings that are Pareto-inefficient for students, and thus several alternatives have been proposed to correct this inefficiency that only involve consented priority violations.
However, we show that these approaches cannot correct DA's suboptimal rank distribution, because this shortcoming can arise even in cases where DA is Pareto-efficient.
We also examine student segregation in settings with tiered priority structures. We prove that the demographic composition of every school is perfectly preserved under any Pareto-efficient rule that dominates DA, and consequently fully segregated schools under DA maintain their extreme homogeneity.
However, we show that these approaches cannot correct DA's suboptimal rank distribution, because this shortcoming can arise even in cases where DA is Pareto-efficient.
We also examine student segregation in settings with tiered priority structures. We prove that the demographic composition of every school is perfectly preserved under any Pareto-efficient rule that dominates DA, and consequently fully segregated schools under DA maintain their extreme homogeneity.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Political Economy: Microeconomics |
| Early online date | 07 Aug 2026 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Early online date - 07 Aug 2026 |
Publications and Copyright Policy
This work is licensed under Queen’s Research Publications and Copyright Policy.Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'What Pareto-efficiency adjustments cannot fix'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Cite this
- APA
- Author
- BIBTEX
- Harvard
- Standard
- RIS
- Vancouver