Goshen College

Title: Fair Division and Cooperative Game Theory

Director(s): David Housman, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science

Dates of Program: June 14 - August 16

Summary: This program deals with practical applications of Cooperative Game Theory to real-life scenarios. For example: By collaborating, several cities can save money on upgrading their water treatment facilities. What is a fair way of allocating the savings? Several people have inherited an estate, but they differ in their opinions about the worth of each item in the estate. What is a fair way of allocating the estate? Different sportswriters have different rankings for college football teams. What is a fair way of melding these different opinions into a single ranking ordering? In these situations, do the agents involved have incentives for stating their true costs, valuations, or rankings? In this research, students develop s mathematical model of a situation, define fairness properties, suggest allocation methods, and determine whether suggested allocation methods satisfy the defined fairness properties. Additional details can be found by contacting David Housman.

View Pictures from the Maple Scholars 2004 Program

Student Researchers: