Generalized best choice problem based on the information economics approach

Y H Chun ()
Additional contact information
Y H Chun: Louisiana State University

Journal of the Operational Research Society, 2004, vol. 55, issue 9, 988-999

Abstract: Abstract We consider the problem of choosing the ‘best choice’ among a certain number of objects that are presented to a decision-maker in sequential order. Such a sequential selection problem is commonly referred to as the ‘best choice problem’, and its optimal stopping rule has been obtained either via the dynamic programming approach or via the Markovian approach. Based on the theory of information economics, we propose in the paper the third approach to a generalized version of the best choice problem that is intuitively more appealing. Various types of the best choice problem, such as (1) the classical secretary problem, (2) no information group interview problem, and (3) full information best choice problem with a random walk process, are shown to be special cases of the generalized best choice problem. The modelling framework of information economics has potential for building theory that ultimately would produce practical stopping rules.

Keywords: Probability: optimal stopping rule; secretary problem; random walk; Dynamic programming: Markov process; Decision analysis: sequential decision making (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/palgrave.jors.2601761 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:jorsoc:v:55:y:2004:i:9:d:10.1057_palgrave.jors.2601761

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... search/journal/41274

DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jors.2601761

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of the Operational Research Society is currently edited by Tom Archibald and Jonathan Crook

More articles in Journal of the Operational Research Society from Palgrave Macmillan, The OR Society
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().