Date:
Location:
This Friday, 1-2pm in SEC 1.413, Hannah Li will be speaking in person on:
Marketplace Experimentation and Interference Effects
Abstract:
Platforms often rely on experiments (A/B tests) to aid decision-making. However, in many marketplace experiments, interactions between users can create interference effects that lead to biased estimates. We develop mathematical models to capture these interference effects and study the biases that arise. In particular, we are able to highlight and formalize the relationship between the magnitude of the bias in commonly run experiments and the level of supply and demand imbalance in the marketplace. Building on these insights, we propose a novel class of experimental designs using “two-sided randomization” (TSR) that reduces bias across wide ranges of market imbalance. We evaluate the impact of these biases in practice, through calibrated simulations to platform data and an implementation of the TSR design in a marketplace platform.
For those who can't make it in-person, the Zoom link is as usual:
https://harvard.zoom.us/j/95184948637?pwd=bXBIc2U5MEZ0QmRUb01WQ0o0SXRCdz09
(password: econcs)
Also relevant to many people on this email list, right after the seminar, starting at 2pm in nearby SEC 1.402, Jayshree Sarathy will be defending her thesis on:
Bridging Sociotechnical Gaps for Privacy-Preserving Data Science
All are welcome to attend this as well! Abstract below.