Choice function-based two-sided markets: Stability, lattice property, path independence and algorithms

Abstract

We build an abstract model, closely related to the stable marriage problem and motivated by Hungarian college admissions. We study different stability notions and show that an extension of the lattice property of stable marriages holds in these more general settings, even if the choice function on one side is not path independent. We lean on Tarski's fixed point theorem and the substitutability property of choice functions. The main virtue of the work is that it exhibits practical, interesting examples, where non-path independent choice functions play a role, and proves various stability-related results. © 2014 by the authors.