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Analysis of Stochastic Matching Markets

Author

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  • Peter Biro

    (Institute of Economics - Hungarian Academy of Sciences)

  • Gethin Norman

    (School of Computing Science - University of Glasgow)

Abstract

Suppose that the agents of a matching market contact each other randomly and form new pairs if is in their interest. Does such a process always converge to a stable matching if one exists? If so, how quickly? Are some stable matchings more likely to be obtained by this process than others? In this paper we are going to provide answers to these and similar questions, posed by economists and computer scientists. In the first part of the paper we give an alternative proof for the theorems by Diamantoudi et al. and Inarra et al. which implies that the corresponding stochastic processes are absorbing Markov chains. Our proof is not only shorter, but also provides upper bounds for the number of steps needed to stabilise the system. The second part of the paper proposes new techniques to analyse the behaviour of matching markets. We introduce the Stable Marriage and Stable Roommates Automaton and show how the probabilistic model checking tool PRISM may be used to predict the outcomes of stochastic interactions between myopic agents. In particular, we demonstrate how one can calculate the probabilities of reaching different matchings in a decentralised market and determine the expected convergence time of the stochastic process concerned. We illustrate the usage of this technique by studying some well-known marriage and roommates instances and randomly generated instances.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Biro & Gethin Norman, 2011. "Analysis of Stochastic Matching Markets," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 1132, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:has:discpr:1132
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jacob D Leshno & Bary S R Pradelski, 2021. "The importance of memory for price discovery in decentralized markets," Post-Print hal-03100097, HAL.
    2. Bolle Friedel & Otto Philipp E., 2016. "Matching as a Stochastic Process," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 236(3), pages 323-348, May.
    3. Newton, Jonathan & Sawa, Ryoji, 2015. "A one-shot deviation principle for stability in matching problems," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 1-27.
    4. Leshno, Jacob D. & Pradelski, Bary S.R., 2021. "The importance of memory for price discovery in decentralized markets," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 62-78.
    5. Joana Pais & Ágnes Pintér & Róbert F. Veszteg, 2020. "Decentralized matching markets with(out) frictions: a laboratory experiment," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 23(1), pages 212-239, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    roommates problem; marriage problem; stochastic processes; core convergence; probabilistic model checking;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C62 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Existence and Stability Conditions of Equilibrium
    • C63 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Computational Techniques
    • C71 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Cooperative Games
    • C78 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Bargaining Theory; Matching Theory

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