Redesigning the US Army's Branching Process: A Case Study in Minimalist Market Design / Kyle Greenberg, Parag A. Pathak, Tayfun Sönmez.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Greenberg, Kyle.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Pathak, Parag A.

Sönmez, Tayfun.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w28911.

NBER working paper series no. w28911

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2021.

Summary:

We present the proof-of-concept for minimalist market design (Sönmez, 2023) as an effective methodology to enhance an institution based on the desiderata of stakeholders with minimal interference. Four objectives - respecting merit, increasing retention, aligning talent, and enhancing trust - guided reforms to US Army's centralized branching process of cadets to military specialties since 2006. USMA's mechanism for the Class of 2020 exacerbated challenges implementing these objectives. Formulating the Army's desiderata as rigorous axioms, we analyze their implications. Under our minimalist approach to institution redesign, the Army's objectives uniquely identify a branching mechanism. Our design is now adopted at USMA and ROTC.

Notes:

Print version record

June 2021.