Working Papers:
Satisficing Matching (with Andrés Carvajal and Ester Camiña) [PDF]
We bring the notion of “Satisficing” to matching theory and develop a weaker notion of stability. Satisficing behavior is an alternative to maximizing behavior, where instead of always going for the best, satisficers settle on something that is “good enough”. As a result of satisficing preferences, when agents are matched to partners that are “good enough”, they do not have incentives to deviate. Under our definition of satisficing, stable mechanisms and satisficing mechanisms becomes strategy-proof, which is not possible in the general context. We show that satisficing matchings are Pareto efficient, and we also explore the structure and various properties of the set of satisficing matchings.
Revealed Preference Tests of Aggregate Matching with Single Peaked Preferences (with Andrés Carvajal) [PDF]
Abstract: This paper studies the rationalizability of two-sided aggregate matchings with non-transferrable utility by single-peaked preferences, when agents' preferences are unobserved. This builds on Echenique, Lee, Shum, and Yenmez (2013)’s framework, which considers unrestricted preference domains. In contrast, I restrict preferences to be single-peaked. This is motivated by the fact that many observable characteristics of agents, such as age and income, are naturally ordered. A matching is rationalizable by single-peaked preferences if there exists a single-peaked preference profile such that the observed matching is stable. I find a characterization for such matchings and extend the result to a multidimensional type setting.
Matching, Unanticipated Experiences, Divorce, Flirting, Rematching, Etc. (with Burkhard Schipper) [PDF]
Abstract: We study dynamic decentralized two-sided matching where players’ preferences evolve due to unanticipated experiences. Stability requires no pairwise common belief in blocking, but unanticipated experiences can destabilize matchings. We show the existence of self-confirming outcomes that are stable and do not lead to unanticipated experiences. We propose a decentralized matching process that prioritizes mutual optimal blocking pairs with probability 1−ε and picks any other optimal blocking pair with ε, representing market friction. Frictions are necessary for convergence to self-confirming stable outcomes even without unawareness. We extend our results by allowing communication and show convergence to flirt-proof self-confirming outcomes.
Alternative Characterizations of Revealed Preference Tests of Aggregate Matching [PDF]
We provide alternative characterizations of rationalizable aggregate matching, based on Echenique, Lee, Shum, and Yenmez (2013) and Demuynck and Salman (2022). Under non-transferrable utility, a matching is rationalizable if and only if every sub-market of the partition of the matching market does not have more couple types than individual types. Under transferable utility, a matching is rationalizable if and only if every sub-market of the partition of the matching market has more individual types than couple types. Such alternative conditions make the revealed preference tests more convenient for empirical research on matching. We also discuss other empirical considerations such as the power of the test and potential issues with data binning.
Work in Progress:
Revealed Stability (with Andrés Carvajal)
We study the testable implications of stable matchings across different subsets of agents in matching markets. We develop conditions that are analogous to SARP and WARP in consumer theory and conditions that are analogous to persistence under contraction and expansion in revealed preference theory of game theory (as in Sprumont (2000)). We obtain a characterization of rationalizable matching correspondence, which also shed light on the structure of stable matchings.
Efficient Matchings under Unawareness (with Burkhard Schipper)