You Are A Matchmaker

(We can help.)

Matchmaking isn’t limited to dating!

Matching 101

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How to bring different players together in the best possible way is a key problem in economics. Traditional markets use money as a signal of value, and goods or services are allocated to those willing to pay the most. Classical economics says the market will clear at the price at which the willingness to produce (supply) equals the marginal willingness to pay (demand).

But what about markets without money?

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These scarce resources are allocated through a “matching process.” In his book, Who Gets What and Why, Al Roth notes that “A market involves matching whenever price isn’t the only determinant of who gets what.”

He goes on to explain, “Matching is economist-speak for how we get the many thing we choose in life that also must choose us. You can’t just inform Yale University that you’re enrolling or Google that you’re showing up for work. You also have to be admitted or hired. Neigher can Yale or Google dictate who will come to them…”

The History of Matching Science

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Beginning in the mid-1900s, David Gale and Lloyd Shapley studied different matching methods theoretically and were the first to define an algorithmic approach to optimal allocation. Beginning in the 1980s, Al Roth explained how markets function in practice. Shapley and Roth won the Nobel Prize for their work in 2012.

Parag Pathak, Al Roth, Atila Abdulkadiroglu, and Neil Dorosin at Nobel Prize Ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden (2012)

Parag Pathak, Al Roth, Atila Abdulkadiroglu, and Neil Dorosin at Nobel Prize Ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden (2012)

Since then, the field has been led by Tayfun Sönmez, Atila Abdulkadiroglu, and our co-founders, Parag Pathak and Josh Angrist. They expanded on the field by applying the science of matching to more complex real world scenarios - everything from medical treatments to school assignments to military deployments to talent placement.

In 2018, Parag Pathak won the John Bates Clark Medal, the most prestigious award for young economists, for his work on K12 school enrollment markets.

In 2021, Josh Angrist won the Nobel Prize in Economics for his work in this field, particularly for using natural experiments to infer causality.

In 2020, Parag and Josh co-founded Avela - the only company focused on solving matching problems. We offer the only software platform purpose built to solve matching problems, as well as a range of advisory services. And while we’re used the most in education, our tool can be used across industries.

Below are a few examples of matching markets in the wild.

 Matching Market Examples

Education & Nonprofits

K12 School Enrollment

Students → District Schools

Students → Charter Schools

Teacher Placement

Teachers → Schools & Districts

Teachers → Classrooms

TFA Corps Members → Partners

Higher Education

University Universities

Residential College Students → Dorm Rooms

Candidates → Scholarships

Applicant → Interviewers

Graduate Fieldwork and Fellowships

Students → Internships

Nurses → Clinicals

Medical Residents → Hospitals

MSW Candidates → Clinical Fieldwork

MA-Teaching Candidates → Student-Teacher Placements

Graduate Students → Applied Field Learning

Volunteering and Nonprofit Programs

Volunteer → Projects

Mentors → Mentees

Students → After School Activities

Participants → Programs

Traveling Doctors → Countries

Clergy → Parochials

Missionaries → Missions

Government

Permitting

Hunters / Fishers → Permits

Campers → Campground Permits

Civil Service

Prosecutors → Cases

Public Defenders → Defendants

Immigrants → Visas

Foreign Service Assignments: Diplomats →Overseas Tours

Civil Service Assignments

Affordable Housing Lotteries: Homebuyers → Homes

Military and Defense

Officer Accessions

Soldiers → Platoons

Cadets → Units

Officers → Positions

NCOs → Trainings

Units → Deployments

Medical

Therapists → Sessions

Residents → Hospitals

Nurses → Shifts

Recipients → Kidney Donors

Patients → Ventilators

Patients → Vaccines

Talent Mobility & Enterprise HR

Hiring and Talent Placement

Candidates → Interviewer

New Hires → Teams

Fellows → Fellowships

Law Students → Clerkships

Talent Mobility

Rotational Programs: Employees → Rotations

Project Assignments: Engineers → Projects

Staffing: Consultants → Client Engagements

Shift Scheduling: Staff → Shifts

Employees → Secondments

Employees → Externships

Other Examples

Event Ticketing (When Price Isn’t Set to Market Clearing)

Conference Scheduling: Attendee → Sessions

Athletic Meets: Athlete → Event

and of course…

Dating Apps