24th Conference of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies
Abstract Submission

1923. Prioritization in Heterogeneous Populations: Efficiency and Equity under Imperfect Information

Invited abstract in session Operations Research and the Common Good (special edition), stream OR and Ethics, and Societal Perspectives.

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Dilay Ozkan
Statistics and Operations Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2. Nilay Argon
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
3. Serhan Ziya
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Abstract

We study a single-server priority queue motivated by emergency departments, where decisions are made under imperfect information and may affect certain demographics differently. Customers belong to one of two subpopulations and to one of two unobserved types that differ in service needs and waiting costs. The service provider infers the type from biased signals that vary by subpopulation. We analyze priority policies based on these signals, their impact on overall delay cost and subpopulation outcomes, and investigate these policies in terms of system efficiency and fairness.

Keywords

Status: accepted


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