Efficiency in Random Resource Allocation and Social Choice
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We study efficiency in general collective choice problems when agents have ordinal preferences and randomization is allowed. We establish the equivalence between welfare maximization and ex-ante efficiency for general domains. We relate ex-ante efficiency with ex-post efficiency, characterizing when the two notions coincide. Our results have implications for well-studied mechanisms including random serial dictatorship and a number of specific environments, including the dichotomous, single-peaked, and social choice domains.
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