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  5. Redesigning the US Army's Branching Process: A Case Study in Minimalist Market Design

Redesigning the US Army's Branching Process: A Case Study in Minimalist Market Design

  • Kyle Greenberg
  • Parag A. Pathak
  • Tayfun Sönmez
American Economic Review
vol. 114, no. 4, April 2024
(pp. 1070-1106)
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Abstract

We present a proof-of-concept for minimalist market design (Sönmez 2023) as an effective methodology to enhance an institution based on stakeholders' desiderata with minimal interference. Four objectives—respecting merit, increasing retention, aligning talent, and enhancing trust—guided reforms to the US Army's centralized branching process of cadets to military specialties since 2006. USMA's mechanism for the class of 2020 exacerbated challenges in implementing these objectives. Formulating the Army's desiderata as rigorous axioms, we analyze their implications. Under our minimalist approach to institution redesign, the Army's objectives uniquely identify a branching mechanism. Our design is now adopted at USMA and ROTC.

Citation

Greenberg, Kyle, Parag A. Pathak, and Tayfun Sönmez. 2024. "Redesigning the US Army's Branching Process: A Case Study in Minimalist Market Design." American Economic Review, 114 (4): 1070-1106. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20211743

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • D47 Market Design
  • H56 National Security and War
  • J45 Public Sector Labor Markets