We take school admission mechanisms to the lab to test whether the widely-used manipulable Immediate Acceptance mechanism disadvantages students of lower cognitive ability and whether this leads to ability segregation across schools. Results show this to be the case: lower ability participants receive lower payoffs and are over-represented at the worst school. Under the strategy-proof Deferred Acceptance mechanism, payoff differences are reduced, and ability distributions across schools harmonized. Hence, we find support for the argument that a strategy-proof mechanism “levels the playing field”. Finally, we document a trade-off between equity and efficiency in that average payoffs are larger under Immediate than under Deferred Acceptance.

Basteck, C., Mantovani, M. (2018). Cognitive ability and games of school choice. GAMES AND ECONOMIC BEHAVIOR, 109, 156-183 [10.1016/j.geb.2017.12.011].

Cognitive ability and games of school choice

Mantovani, M
2018

Abstract

We take school admission mechanisms to the lab to test whether the widely-used manipulable Immediate Acceptance mechanism disadvantages students of lower cognitive ability and whether this leads to ability segregation across schools. Results show this to be the case: lower ability participants receive lower payoffs and are over-represented at the worst school. Under the strategy-proof Deferred Acceptance mechanism, payoff differences are reduced, and ability distributions across schools harmonized. Hence, we find support for the argument that a strategy-proof mechanism “levels the playing field”. Finally, we document a trade-off between equity and efficiency in that average payoffs are larger under Immediate than under Deferred Acceptance.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
Cognitive ability; Laboratory experiment; Mechanism design; School choice; Strategy-proofness;
Cognitive ability; Laboratory experiment; Mechanism design; School choice; Strategy-proofness; Finance; Economics and Econometrics
English
21-dic-2017
2018
109
156
183
reserved
Basteck, C., Mantovani, M. (2018). Cognitive ability and games of school choice. GAMES AND ECONOMIC BEHAVIOR, 109, 156-183 [10.1016/j.geb.2017.12.011].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/219126
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