1999/02/01 by Alvin E. Roth, Elliott Peranson · 2 citations
Decision Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Auction Theory and Applications #Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies #Game Theory and Applications #Game Theory and Voting Systems
paper · doi:10.1257/aer.89.4.748
openalex publication_date 1999/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/01
We report on the design of the new clearinghouse adopted by the National Resident Matching Program, which annually fills approximately 20, 000 jobs for new physicians. Because the market has complementarities between applicants and between positions, the theory of simple matching markets does not apply directly. However, computational experiments show the theory provides good approximations. Furthermore, the set of stable matchings, and the opportunities for strategic manipulation, are surprisingly small. A new kind of "core convergence" result explains this; that each applicant interviews only a small fraction of available positions is important. We also describe engineering aspects of the design process.