Best of: How math makes markets fairer

The Future of Everything

We have another best-of episode for you today. This one is a conversation with Irene Lo about the work she’s doing to study and leverage markets for social impact — think markets for public school assignments, or medical school residency matches. Irene reminds us that markets exist to help effectively allocate limited resources, and not all marketplaces are based in cash. We hope you’ll tune in again to this thought provoking conversation to hear Irene talk about the changing face of markets.

Episode Reference Links:

• Stanford Profile: Irene Lo

Connect With Us:

• Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website
• Connect with Russ >>> Threads or Twitter/X
• Connect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X

Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Irene Lo, a professor of management science and engineering at Stanford.

(00:03:23) Unique Challenges of Non-Financial Markets

The unique challenges in markets where monetary transactions are not feasible or ethical.

(00:04:21) School Choice and District Perspectives

The multifaceted decisions parents and school districts face in school choice.

(00:06:54) Collaboration with San Francisco School District

Connecting with the San Francisco School District to redesign their student assignment system.

(00:08:27) Algorithms and Testing of School Assignment Policies

The extensive simulations and community engagement involved in testing the new school assignment policies algorithm before implementation.

(00:11:18) Goals and Issues of the Old System

Why the old school assignment system failed to achieve its goals of predictability, proximity, and diversity.

(00:12:52) Algorithm Adaptation for Broader Use

The potential for adapting the San Francisco school assignment algorithms for use in other cities and districts.

(00:14:42) Applying Market Design to Medical Residency Matches

Adapting market design principles to medical residency placements, emphasizing multifactorial considerations.

(00:19:07) Market Design in the Developing World: Indonesian Palm Oil Market

Insights into the challenges and solutions in improving the supply chain for palm oil in Indonesia.

(00:24:08) Crowdsourcing Information

How crowdsourcing information can help improve market efficiency for palm oil farmers and the challenges involved.

(00:26:32) Market Manipulation and Algorithms

The future application of advanced algorithms to improve market dynamics once sufficient data is gathered.

(00:28:08) Conclusion

Connect With Us:

Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website

Connect with Russ >>> Threads or Twitter/X

Connect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X