Jumping the Gun: Intertemporal Instability in Two-Sided Matching and Related Markets, Theory and Evidence

这个项目涉及对双边匹配市场和相关市场行为的平行理论和实证调查。它着眼于市场交易为应对竞争而来得越来越早，导致各种类型的市场失灵的“抢跑”现象。初步迹象表明，这可能是一种比人们普遍认为的更常见的市场失灵形式。调查的实证部分将集中在其他一些似乎经历过这种现象的市场。在这方面，为这项调查提供有希望的目标的一些市场是医学(专业职位)、法律(美国法律伙伴关系的助理职位和联邦法院的书记员职位，以及加拿大的“兼职职位”)、牙科(特别是口腔外科)、临床心理学(博士前实习)、日本精英大学应届毕业生的入门级市场，以及季后赛大学橄榄球碗市场。初步迹象表明，这些市场中的大多数(如果不是全部)在其历史上的某个时候都经历过类似的市场失灵，并在许多情况下采取了具体的体制安排来处理这些失灵。调查的重点之一将是审查这些市场失灵以及为应对这些失灵而制定的制度安排。另一个焦点将是这些市场的参与者参与适应特定制度安排的战略行为的程度和方式。这些问题也提出了新的理论问题，将继续探讨。

This project involves parallel theoretical and empirical investigations into the behavior of two sided matching markets, and related markets. It focuses on the phenomenon of "jumping the gun," in which market transactions come earlier and earlier, in response to competition, and resulting in various types of market failure. Preliminary indications are that this may be a much more common form of market failure than is generally recognized. The empirical part of the investigation will focus on a number of other markets which appear to have experienced this phenomenon. In this regard, some of the markets which present promising targets for this investigation are labor markets in medicine (for specialty positions), law (for associate positions in law partnerships and clerkships in Federal courts in the U.S., and for "articling positions" in Canada), dentistry (particularly oral surgery), clinical psychology (pre-doctoral internships), the entry level market for new graduates of elite Japanese universities, and the market for post-season college football bowls. Preliminary indications are that most if not all of these markets have at some point in their histories experienced similar market failures, and have in many cases adopted specific institutional arrangements to deal with these failures. One focus of the investigation will be to examine these market failures and the institutional arrangements developed in response. Another focus will be the degree and manner in which participants in these markets engage in strategic behavior adapted to particular institutional arrangements. These issues also raise new theoretical problems, which will be pursued.