593 lines
36 KiB
TeX
593 lines
36 KiB
TeX
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% opening
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\title{Participatory Budgeting: Algorithms and Complexity}
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\author{
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\authorname{Tobias Eidelpes} \\
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\studentnumber{01527193} \\
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\curriculum{033 534} \\
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\email{e1527193@student.tuwien.ac.at}
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}
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\begin{document}
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\maketitle
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\begin{abstract}
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Participatory budgeting is a deliberative democratic process that allows
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residents to decide how public funds should be spent. By combining a form of
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preference elicitation with an aggregation method, a set of winning projects
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is determined and funded. This paper first gives an introduction into
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participatory budgeting methods and then focuses on approval-based models to
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discuss algorithmic complexity. Furthermore, \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{this work presents }\DIFaddend a short
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overview of useful axioms that can help select one method in practice\DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{is presented. Finally, }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{. The
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paper concludes with }\DIFaddend an outlook on future challenges surrounding
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participatory budgeting\DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{is given}\DIFdelend .
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\end{abstract}
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\section{Introduction}
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\emph{Participatory Budgeting} (PB) is a process of democratic deliberation that
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allows residents of a municipality to decide how a part of the public budget is
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to be spent. It is a way to improve transparency and citizen involvement which
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are two important cornerstones of a democracy. PB was first realized in the
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1990s in Porto Alegre in Brazil by the Workers' Party to combat the growing
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divide between the rich city center and the poor living in the greater region.
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Owing to its success in the south of Brazil, PB quickly spread to North America,
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Europe, Asia and Africa.
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Although the process is heavily adapted by each municipality to suit the
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environment in which the residents live in, it generally follows the following
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stages \autocite{participatorybudgetingprojectHowPBWorks}:
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\begin{description}
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\item [Design the process] A rule book is crafted to ensure that the process
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is democratic.
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\item [Collect ideas] Residents propose and discuss ideas for projects.
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\item [Develop feasible projects] The ideas are developed into projects that
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can be undertaken by the municipality.
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\item [Voting] The projects are voted on by the residents.
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\item [Aggregating votes \& funding] The votes are combined to determine a
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set of winning projects which are then funded.
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\end{description}
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\noindent The \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{two last }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{last two }\DIFaddend stages \emph{voting} and \emph{aggregating votes} are of
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main interest for computer scientists \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{, economists and social choice theorists
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}\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{and economists }\DIFaddend because depending on how
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voters elicit their preferences (\emph{balloting} or \emph{input method}) and
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how the votes are aggregated through the use of algorithms, the outcome is
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different. To study different ways of capturing votes and aggregating them, the
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participatory process is modeled mathematically. This model will be called a
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participatory budgeting \emph{scenario}. The aim of studying participatory
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budgeting scenarios is to find ways to achieve a desirable outcome. A desirable
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outcome can be one based on fairness by making sure that each voter has at least
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one chosen project in the final set of winning projects for example. Other
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approaches are concerned with maximizing social welfare or discouraging
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\emph{gaming the voting process} (where an outcome \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{can
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}\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{cannot }\DIFaddend be manipulated by not
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voting truthfully; also called \emph{strategyproofness}).
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First, this paper will give a brief overview of common methods and show how a
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participatory budgeting scenario can be modeled mathematically. To illustrate
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these methods, one approach will be chosen and discussed in detail with respect
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to algorithmic complexity and properties. Finally, the \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{conclusion will summarize
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the }\DIFaddend gained insight into participatory budgeting algorithms \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{will be summarized and }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{and will give }\DIFaddend an
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outlook on further developments \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{will be given}\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{and research directions}\DIFaddend .
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\section{A Participatory Budgeting Framework}
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\label{sec:a participatory budgeting framework}
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\textcite{talmonFrameworkApprovalBasedBudgeting2019} define a participatory
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budgeting scenario as a tuple $E = (P,V,c,B)$, consisting of a set of projects
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$P = \{ p_1,\dots,p_m \}$ where each project $p\in P$ has an associated cost
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$c(p):P\rightarrow\mathbb{R}$, a set of voters $V = \{v_1,\dots,v_n\}$ and a
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budget limit $B$. The \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{authors assume a model where the }\DIFaddend voters express
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preferences over individual projects\DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{or
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}\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{, although models where voters express
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preferences }\DIFaddend over subsets of all projects \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{exist}\DIFaddend . How the preferences of voters
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are expressed has to be decided during the design phase of the process and is a
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choice that has to be made in accordance with the method that is used for
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aggregating the votes. After the voters have elicited their preferences, a set
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of projects $A\subseteq P$ is selected as \emph{winning projects} according to
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some rule and subject to the total budget limit $B$. For the case where projects
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are indivisible, which is also called discrete, the sum of the winning projects'
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costs is not allowed to exceed the limit $B$:
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\begin{equation}\label{eq:1}
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\sum_{p\in A}{c(p)\leq B}.
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\end{equation}
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When projects can be divisible, i.e., completed to a fractional degree, \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{the
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authors define }\DIFdelend a
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function $\mu(p) : P\rightarrow [0,1]$ \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{which }\DIFdelend maps every project to an interval between
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zero and one, representing the fractional degree to which this project is
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completed. Since the cost of each project is a function of its degree of
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completion, the goal is to select a set of projects where the cost of the degree
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of completion does not exceed the budget limit:
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\begin{equation}\label{eq:2}
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\sum_{p\in A}{\mu(p)\cdot c(p)\leq B}.
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\end{equation}
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\DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{Common ways }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{One way }\DIFaddend to design the input method is to ask the voters to approve a subset of
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projects \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{$A_v\subseteq P$ }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{$P_v\subseteq P$ }\DIFaddend where each individual project can be either chosen to
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be in \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{$A_v$ }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{$P_v$ }\DIFaddend or not. This form is called \emph{dichotomous preferences} because
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every project is put in one of two categories: \emph{good} or \emph{bad}.
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Projects that have not been approved (are not in \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{$A_v$}\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{$P_v$}\DIFaddend ) are assumed to be in the
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bad category. This type of preference elicitation is known as approval-based
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preference elicitation \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{or balloting}\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{with dichotomous
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preferences~\mbox{%DIFAUXCMD
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\cite{bramsApprovalVoting1978}}\hspace{0pt}%DIFAUXCMD
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}\DIFaddend . It is possible to design variations
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of the described scenario by for example asking the voters to only specify at
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most $k$ projects which they want to see approved ($k$-Approval)
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\cite{goelKnapsackVotingParticipatory2019a}. These variations typically do not
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take into account the cost that is associated with each project at the voting
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stage. To alleviate this, approaches where the voters are asked to approve
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projects while factoring in the cost have been proposed. After asking the voters
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for their preferences, various aggregation methods\DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{can be used. }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{, which take the votes
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elicited by the voters as input, aggregate them to provide a set of winning
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projects. Each voter's total utility is added to the total sum of utility that a
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set of winning project provides for all voters. This type of measuring total
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utility is referred to as }\emph{\DIFadd{additive utilities}}\DIFadd{.
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}\DIFaddend Section~\ref{sec:approval-based budgeting} will go into detail about the
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complexity and axiomatic guarantees of \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{these methods }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{a subset of aggregation methods called
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}\emph{\DIFadd{approval-based aggregation methods}}\DIFaddend .
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One such approach \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{and a second way for preference elicitation}\DIFaddend , where the cost
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and benefit of each project is factored in, is described by
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\textcite{goelKnapsackVotingParticipatory2019a}, which they term \emph{knapsack
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voting}. It allows voters to express preferences by factoring in the cost as
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well as the benefit per unit of cost.
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\DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{\mbox{%DIFAUXCMD
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\textcite[p.~3]{goelKnapsackVotingParticipatory2019a} }\hspace{0pt}%DIFAUXCMD
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describe a scenario
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(example 1.2) where $1$-Approval voting falls short of selecting two more
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valuable projects in favor of a single project even though the budget limit
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would allow for the two more valuable projects to be funded. }\DIFaddend The name stems from
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the well-known knapsack problem in which, given a set of items, their associated
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\DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{weight and value }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{weights and values }\DIFaddend and a weight limit, a selection of items that maximize the
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value subject to the weight limit has to be chosen. In the budgeting scenario,
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the items correspond to projects, the weight limit to the budget limit\DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{, the
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weight of each item to the cost of each project }\DIFaddend and the value of each item to
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the value that a project provides to a voter. To have a suitable metric for the
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value that each voter gets from a specific project, the authors introduce
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different \emph{utility models}. These models make it possible to provide
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axiomatic guarantees such as strategyproofness or welfare maximization. While
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their model assumes fractional voting---that is each voter can allocate the
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budget in any way they see fit---utility functions are also used by
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\textcite{talmonFrameworkApprovalBasedBudgeting2019} \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{for the case where projects
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are indivisible }\DIFaddend to measure the total satisfaction that a winning set of projects
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provides under an aggregation rule.
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A third possibility for preference elicitation is \emph{ranked orders}. In this
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scenario, voters specify a ranking over the available choices (projects) with
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the highest ranked choice receiving the biggest amount of the budget and the
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lowest ranked one the lowest amount of the budget.
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\textcite{airiauPortioningUsingOrdinal2019} study a scenario in which the input
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method is ranked orders and the projects that can be chosen are divisible. The
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problem of allocating the budget to a set of winning projects under these
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circumstances is referred to as \emph{portioning}. Depending on the desired
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outcome, multiple aggregation methods can be combined with ranked orders.
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% Cite municipalities using approval-based budgeting (Paris?)
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Since approval-based \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{methods are comparatively easy to implement and are being
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}\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{budgeting is }\DIFaddend used in practice by multiple municipalities,
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the next section will discuss aggregation methods, their complexity as well as
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useful axioms for comparing the different aggregation rules.
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\section{Approval-based budgeting}
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\label{sec:approval-based budgeting}
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\DIFaddbegin \subsection{\DIFadd{Greedy rules}}
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\label{subsec:greedy rules}
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\DIFaddend Although approval-based budgeting is also suitable for the case where the
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projects can be divisible, municipalities using this method generally assume
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indivisible projects. Moreover---as is the case with participatory budgeting in
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general---we not only want to select one project as a winner but multiple. This
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is called a multi-winner election and is in contrast to single-winner elections.
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Once the votes have been cast by the voters, again assuming dichotomous
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preferences, a simple aggregation rule is greedy selection. In this case the
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goal is to iteratively select one project $p\in P$ that gives the maximum
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satisfaction for all voters. Satisfaction can be viewed as a form of social
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welfare where it is not only desirable to stay below the budget limit $B$ but
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also to \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{achieve a high score at some metric that quantifies the value that each
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voter gets from the result}\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{select a set of winning projects maximizing the value for the voters}\DIFaddend .
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\textcite{talmonFrameworkApprovalBasedBudgeting2019} propose three satisfaction
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functions which provide this metric. Formally, they define a satisfaction
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function as a function $sat : 2^P\times 2^P\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, where $P$ is
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a set of projects. A voter $v$ selects projects to be in her approval set $P_v$
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and a bundle $A\subseteq P$ contains the projects that have been selected as
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winners. The satisfaction that voter $v$ gets from a selected bundle $A$ is
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denoted as $sat(P_v,A)$. The set $A_v = P_v\cap A$ denotes the set of approved
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items by $v$ that end up in the winning bundle $A$. A simple approach is to
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count the number of projects that have been approved by a voter and which ended
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up being in the winning set:
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\begin{equation}\label{eq:3}
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sat_\#(P_v,A) = |A_v|
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\end{equation}
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Combined with the greedy rule for selecting projects, projects are iteratively
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added to the winning bundle $A$ where at every iteration the project that gives
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the maximum satisfaction to all voters is selected. It is assumed that the
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voters' individual satisfaction can be added together to provide the
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satisfaction that one project gives to all the voters \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{(additive utilities)}\DIFaddend . This
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gives the rule $\mathcal{R}_{sat_\#}^g$ which seeks to maximize $\sum_{v\in
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V}sat_\#(P_v,A\cup \{p\})$ at every iteration.
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Another satisfaction function assumes a relationship between the cost of the
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items and a voter's satisfaction. Namely, a project that has a high cost and is
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approved by a voter $v$ and ends up in the winning bundle $A$ provides more
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satisfaction than a lower cost project. Equation~\ref{eq:4} gives a definition
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of this property.
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\begin{equation}\label{eq:4}
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sat_\$ (P_v,A) = \sum_{p\in A_v} c(p) = c(A_v)
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\end{equation}
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The third satisfaction function assumes that voters are content as long as there
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is at least one of the projects they have approved selected to be in the winning
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set. Therefore, a voter achieves satisfaction 1 when at least one approved
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project ends up in the winning bundle, i.e., if $|A_v| > 0$ and 0 satisfaction
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otherwise (see equation~\ref{eq:5}).
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\begin{equation}\label{eq:5}
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sat_{0/1}(P_v,A) =
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\begin{cases}
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1 & \mathsf{if}\; |A_v|>0 \\
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0 & \mathsf{otherwise}
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\end{cases}
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\end{equation}
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The satisfaction functions from equations~\ref{eq:4} and \ref{eq:5} can also be
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combined with the greedy rule, potentially giving \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{slightly }\DIFdelend different outcomes than
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$\mathcal{R}_{sat_\#}^g$. An example demonstrating the greedy rule is given in
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example~\ref{ex:greedy} \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{taken from
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\mbox{%DIFAUXCMD
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\textcite[p.~2182]{talmonFrameworkApprovalBasedBudgeting2019}}\hspace{0pt}%DIFAUXCMD
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}\DIFaddend .
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\begin{example}\label{ex:greedy}
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A set of projects $P = \{ p_2,p_3,p_4,p_5,p_6 \}$ and their associated cost
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\DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{$p_i$ where project $p_i$ costs }\DIFdelend $i$ \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{given as subscripts (project $p_2$ costs $2$) }\DIFaddend and a budget limit $B =
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10$ is given. Futhermore, five voters \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{vote }\DIFdelend $v_1 = \{ p_2,p_5,p_6 \}$, $v_2 = \{
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p_2, p_3,p_4,p_5 \}$, $v_3 = \{ p_3,p_4,p_5 \}$, $v_4 = \{ p_4,p_5 \}$ and
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$v_5 = \{ p_6 \}$ \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{vote on the five projects}\DIFaddend . Under $\mathcal{R}_{sat_\#}^g$
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the winning bundle is $\{ p_4,p_5 \}$, $\mathcal{R}_{sat_\$ }^g$ gives $\{
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p_4,p_5 \}$ and $\mathcal{R}_{sat_{0/1}}^g$ $\{ p_2,p_3,p_5 \}$.
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\end{example}
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Computing a solution to the problem of finding a winning set of projects by
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using greedy rules can be done in polynomial time due to their iterative nature
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\DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{.
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The downside to using a greedy selection process is that the provided solution
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might not be optimal with respect to the satisfaction.
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}\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{where each iteration takes polynomial time.
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}\DIFaddend
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\DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{To be able to compute optimal solutions,
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}\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \subsection{\DIFadd{Max rules}}
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\label{subsec:max rules}
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\DIFaddend \textcite{talmonFrameworkApprovalBasedBudgeting2019} suggest combining the
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satisfaction functions with a maximization rule. The maximization rule always
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selects a winning set of projects that maximizes the sum of the voters'
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satisfaction:
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\begin{equation}\label{eq:6}
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\max_{A\subseteq P}\sum_{v\in V}sat(P_v,A)
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\end{equation}
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The max rule can then be used with the three satisfaction functions in the same
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way, giving: $\mathcal{R}_{sat_\#}^m$, $\mathcal{R}_{sat_\$ }^m$ and
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$\mathcal{R}_{sat_{0/1}}^m$. Example~\ref{ex:max} shows that the selection of
|
|
winning projects is not as intuitive as when using the greedy rule. Whereas it
|
|
was still possible to compute a solution without any tools for the greedy
|
|
selection, the max rule requires knowing the possible sets of projects
|
|
beforehand in order to select the bundle with the maximum satisfaction. This
|
|
hints at the complexity of the max rule being harder to solve than the greedy
|
|
rule. The authors confirm this by identifying $\mathcal{R}_{sat_\$ }^m$ as weakly
|
|
\textsf{NP}-hard for the problem of finding a winning set that gives at least a
|
|
specified amount of satisfaction. The proof follows from \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{a reduction to }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{reducing }\DIFaddend the subset sum
|
|
problem \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{which asks the }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{to the problem of asking the }\DIFaddend question of given a set of numbers (in this
|
|
case the cost associated with each project) and a number $B$ (the budget limit)
|
|
does any subset of the numbers sum to exactly $B$? Because the subset sum
|
|
problem is solvable by a dynamic programming algorithm in $O(B\cdot |P|)$ where
|
|
$P$ is the set of projects, $\mathcal{R}_{sat_\$ }^m$ is solvable in
|
|
pseudo-polynomial time. Finding a solution using the rule
|
|
$\mathcal{R}_{sat_\#}^m$ however, is doable in polynomial time due to the
|
|
problem's relation to the knapsack problem. \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{If the input (either projects or
|
|
voters) is represented in unary, a dynamic programming algorithm is bounded by a
|
|
polynomial in the length of the input. }\DIFdelend For $\mathcal{R}_{sat_{0/1}}^m$,
|
|
finding a set of projects that gives at least a certain amount of satisfaction
|
|
is \textsf{NP}-hard. Assuming that the cost of all of the projects is one unit,
|
|
the rule is equivalent to the max cover problem because we are searching for a
|
|
subset of all projects with the number of the projects (the total cost due to
|
|
the projects given in unit cost) smaller or equal to the budget limit $B$ and
|
|
want to maximize the number of voters that are represented by the subset. \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{The
|
|
bigger the resulting set of projects, the more voters are satisfied.
|
|
}\DIFaddend
|
|
|
|
\begin{example}\label{ex:max}
|
|
Taking the initial setup from example~\ref{ex:greedy}: $P = \{
|
|
p_2,p_3,p_4,p_5,p_6 \}$ and their associated cost \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{$p_i$ where project $p_i$
|
|
costs }\DIFdelend $i$ \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{given as subscripts
|
|
(project $p_2$ has a cost of $2$)}\DIFaddend , a budget limit $B = 10$ and the five
|
|
voters: $v_1 = \{ p_2,p_5,p_6 \}$, $v_2 = \{ p_2, p_3,p_4,p_5 \}$, $v_3 = \{
|
|
p_3,p_4,p_5 \}$, $v_4 = \{ p_4,p_5 \}$ and $v_5 = \{ p_6 \}$. We get $\{
|
|
p_2,p_3,p_5 \}$ for $\mathcal{R}_{sat_\#}^m$, $\{ p_4,p_5 \}$ for
|
|
$\mathcal{R}_{sat_\$ }^m$ and $\{ p_4,p_6 \}$ for
|
|
$\mathcal{R}_{sat_{0/1}}^m$. Especially the last rule is interesting
|
|
because it provides \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{the highest }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{a high }\DIFaddend amount of satisfaction \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{possible
|
|
}\DIFdelend by covering each voter
|
|
with at least one project. Project $p_6$ covers voters $v_1$ and $v_5$ and
|
|
project $p_4$ voters $v_2$, $v_3$ and $v_4$.
|
|
\end{example}
|
|
|
|
\DIFaddbegin \subsection{\DIFadd{Proportional greedy rules}}
|
|
\label{subsec:proportional greedy rules}
|
|
|
|
\DIFaddend The third rule, which places a heavy emphasis on cost versus benefit, is similar
|
|
to the greedy rule but instead of disregarding the satisfaction per cost that a
|
|
project provides, it seeks to maximize the sum of satisfaction divided by cost
|
|
for a project $p\in P$:
|
|
\begin{equation}
|
|
\frac{\sum_{v\in V}sat(P_v,A\cup\{p\}) - \sum_{v\in V}sat(P_v,A)}{c(p)}
|
|
\end{equation}
|
|
\textcite{talmonFrameworkApprovalBasedBudgeting2019} call this type of
|
|
aggregation rule \emph{proportional greedy rule}. \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{Example}\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{Their example}\DIFaddend ~\ref{ex:prop
|
|
greedy} shows how the outcome of a budgeting scenario might look like compared
|
|
to using a simple greedy rule or a max rule. Since the proportional greedy rule
|
|
is a variation of the simple greedy rule, it is therefore also solvable in
|
|
polynomial time. The variation of computing the satisfaction per unit of cost
|
|
does not change the complexity since it only adds an additional step which can
|
|
be done in constant time.
|
|
|
|
\begin{example}\label{ex:prop greedy}
|
|
We again have the same set of projects $P = \{ p_2,p_3,p_4,p_5,p_6 \}$, the
|
|
same budget limit of $B = 10$ and the five voters: $v_1 = \{ p_2,p_5,p_6
|
|
\}$, $v_2 = \{ p_2, p_3,p_4,p_5 \}$, $v_3 = \{ p_3,p_4,p_5 \}$, $v_4 = \{
|
|
p_4,p_5 \}$ and $v_5 = \{ p_6 \}$. If we combine the satisfaction function
|
|
$sat_\#$ from equation~\ref{eq:3} with the proportional greedy rule, we get
|
|
the same result as with the simple greedy rule of $\{ p_4,p_5 \}$. While the
|
|
simple greedy rule selects first $p_5$ and then $p_4$, the proportional
|
|
greedy rule first selects $p_4$ and then $p_5$. The rule
|
|
$\mathcal{R}_{sat_\$ }^p$ yields the same result as $\mathcal{R}_{sat_\$ }^g$
|
|
and $\mathcal{R}_{sat_\$ }^m$ of $\{ p_4,p_5 \}$. $\mathcal{R}_{sat_{0/1}}^p$
|
|
however, gives $\{ p_2,p_3,p_4 \}$.
|
|
\end{example}
|
|
|
|
A benefit of the three discussed satisfaction functions is that they can be
|
|
\DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{viewed as constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) and can thus be }\DIFdelend formulated using integer linear programming (ILP). Although integer programming
|
|
is \textsf{NP}-complete, efficient solvers are readily available for these types
|
|
of problems\DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{. }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{, which can be an important factor when choosing a budgeting
|
|
algorithm. For the problem of finding a set of projects that achieve at least a
|
|
given satisfaction, }\DIFaddend \textcite{talmonFrameworkApprovalBasedBudgeting2019} show
|
|
that the rule $\mathcal{R}_{sat_{0/1}}^m$ is similar to the max cover problem
|
|
which can be approximated with \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{a $(1-\frac{1}{\epsilon})$-approximation algorithm, where
|
|
$\epsilon > 0$ is a fixed parameter that is chosen depending on the error of the
|
|
approximation. In fact, \mbox{%DIFAUXCMD
|
|
\textcite{khullerBudgetedMaximumCoverage1999} }\hspace{0pt}%DIFAUXCMD
|
|
show that
|
|
an approximation algorithm with the same ratio exists not only for the case
|
|
where the projects have unit cost but also for the general cost version}\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{an approximation ratio of $(1-\frac{1}{e})$,
|
|
giving a reasonably good solution while taking much less time to compute}\DIFaddend .
|
|
|
|
Instead of sacrificing exactness to get a better running time,
|
|
\textcite{talmonFrameworkApprovalBasedBudgeting2019} show that the
|
|
$\mathcal{R}_{sat_{0/1}}^m$ rule is fixed parameter tractable for the number of
|
|
voters $|V|$. A problem is fixed parameter tractable if there exists an
|
|
algorithm that decides each instance of the problem in $O(f(k)\cdot p(n))$ where
|
|
\DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{$p(n)$ is }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{$n$ is the input size, $k$ some parameter (in this case the cost of each
|
|
project), $p(n)$ }\DIFaddend a polynomial function and $f(k)$ an arbitrary function in $k$.
|
|
It is crucial to note that $f(k)$ does not admit functions of the form $n^k$.
|
|
\DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{The
|
|
algorithm }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{\mbox{%DIFAUXCMD
|
|
\textcite{talmonFrameworkApprovalBasedBudgeting2019} }\hspace{0pt}%DIFAUXCMD
|
|
provide a proof }\DIFaddend for the
|
|
maximum rule \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{tries }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{by trying }\DIFaddend to guess the number of voters that are represented by the
|
|
same project. The estimation is then used to pick a project which has the lowest
|
|
cost and satisfies exactly the estimated amount of voters.
|
|
|
|
\section{Normative Axioms}
|
|
\label{sec:normative axioms}
|
|
|
|
Axioms in the context of participatory budgeting define some kind of property of
|
|
a budgeting method that might be desirable to have. Generally it is beneficial
|
|
if a certain method satisfies as many axioms as possible as this gives the
|
|
method a strong theoretical backbone. One set of axioms, discussed by
|
|
\textcite{talmonFrameworkApprovalBasedBudgeting2019}, relates to the cost of
|
|
projects. Another possibility is to look at the \emph{fairness} associated with
|
|
a particular set of winning projects. Fairness captures the notion of for
|
|
example protecting minorities and their preferences.
|
|
\textcite{azizProportionallyRepresentativeParticipatory2018} propose axioms that
|
|
are representative of the broad spectrum of \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{choices }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{votes }\DIFaddend which voters can \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{make}\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{cast}\DIFaddend . Other
|
|
fairness-based approaches are proposed by
|
|
\textcite{fainCoreParticipatoryBudgeting2016}, \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{using }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{by calculating }\DIFaddend the core of a
|
|
solution, although they focus on cases where voters elicit their preferences via
|
|
a cardinal utility function. The notion of core is also studied by
|
|
\textcite{fainFairAllocationIndivisible2018} for the case where voters have
|
|
additive utilities over the selection of projects\DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{, which is similar to the rules
|
|
discussed above}\DIFdelend . To illustrate working with
|
|
axioms, the following will introduce intuitive properties which are then applied
|
|
to the rules discussed in section~\ref{sec:approval-based budgeting}.
|
|
|
|
\DIFaddbegin \subsection{\DIFadd{Inclusion Maximality}}
|
|
\label{subsec:inclusion Maximality}
|
|
|
|
\DIFaddend A simple axiom is termed \emph{exhaustiveness} by
|
|
\textcite{azizParticipatoryBudgetingModels2020} and \emph{inclusion maximality}
|
|
by \textcite{talmonFrameworkApprovalBasedBudgeting2019}. Inclusion maximality
|
|
encodes the requirement that if it is possible to fund more projects because the
|
|
budget is not yet exhausted, then we should. Greedy and proportional greedy
|
|
rules satisfy this axiom because of their inherent iterative process that
|
|
terminates only when the budget does not allow more projects to be funded. For
|
|
the maximum rules inclusion maximality still holds because for two feasible sets
|
|
of projects where one set is a subset of the other and the smaller set is
|
|
winning then also the bigger set is winning.
|
|
|
|
\DIFaddbegin \subsection{\DIFadd{Discount Monotonicity}}
|
|
\label{subsec:discount monotonicity}
|
|
|
|
\DIFaddend An axiom which is not met by all the discussed aggregation rules is
|
|
\emph{discount monotonicity}. Discount monotonicity states that if an already
|
|
selected project which is going to be funded receives a revised cost function
|
|
\DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{resulting in less budget needed for that particular project}\DIFaddend , then that project
|
|
should not be implemented to a lesser degree
|
|
\cite[p.~11]{azizParticipatoryBudgetingModels2020}. This is an important
|
|
property because if a rule were to fail discount monotonicity, the outcome may
|
|
be manipulated by increasing the cost of a project instead of trying to minimize
|
|
it. For the rules given in section~\ref{sec:approval-based budgeting}, the
|
|
satisfaction functions $sat_\#$ (see equation~\ref{eq:3}) and $sat_{0/1}$
|
|
(equation~\ref{eq:5}) and their combination with the three aggregation methods
|
|
(greedy, proportional greedy and maximum rule) satisfy discount monotonicity.
|
|
This is the case because decreasing a project's cost makes it more attractive
|
|
for selection, which is not the case when the satisfaction function $sat_\$ $
|
|
(equation~\ref{eq:4}) is used \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{.
|
|
}\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{because with $sat_\$ $ a projects value is its
|
|
cost. Discounting a project under $sat_\$ $ therefore lessens its value.
|
|
}\DIFaddend
|
|
|
|
\DIFaddbegin \subsection{\DIFadd{Limit Monotonicity}}
|
|
\label{subsec:Limit monotonicity}
|
|
|
|
\DIFaddend \emph{Limit monotonicity} is similar to discount monotonicity in that the
|
|
relation of a project's cost to the budget limit is modified. Whereas discount
|
|
monotonicity changes the project's cost, limit monotonicity changes the total
|
|
available budget. It states that if the budget limit is increased and there
|
|
exists no project which might become affordable and give higher satisfaction
|
|
than the previous solution, then a project that was a winning project before
|
|
will still be one after the budget is increased. Not satisfying this axiom could
|
|
provoke discontent among the voters when they realize that their approved
|
|
project is not funded anymore because the total budget has increased, as this is
|
|
somewhat counterintuitive. Unfortunately, none of the discussed rules satisfy
|
|
limit monotonicity. A counterexample for the greedy and proportional greedy
|
|
rules is \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{one }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{given by \mbox{%DIFAUXCMD
|
|
\cite[p.~2185]{talmonFrameworkApprovalBasedBudgeting2019}
|
|
}\hspace{0pt}%DIFAUXCMD
|
|
}\DIFaddend where there are three projects $a,b,c$ and $a$ gives the biggest satisfaction.
|
|
Project $a$ is therefore selected first. For the case where the budget limit has
|
|
not yet been increased, project $b$ is selected second because project $c$ is
|
|
too expensive even though it would provide more satisfaction. When the budget
|
|
limit is increased, project $c$ can now be funded instead of $b$ and will
|
|
provide a higher total satisfaction. Voters which have approved project $b$ will
|
|
thus lose some of their satisfaction. This example is also applicable to the
|
|
maximum rules because the maximum satisfaction before the budget is increased is
|
|
provided by $\{ a,b \}$. Because $c$ can be funded additionally to $a$ after
|
|
increasing the budget and provides a higher total satisfaction, the winning set
|
|
is $\{ a,c \}$.
|
|
|
|
These three examples provide a rudimentary introduction to comparing aggregation
|
|
rules by their fulfillment of axiomatic properties. The social choice theory
|
|
often uses axioms such as \emph{strategyproofness}, \emph{pareto efficiency} and
|
|
\emph{non-dictatorship} to classify voting schemes. These properties are
|
|
concerned with making sure that each voter votes truthfully, that a solution
|
|
cannot \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{be bettered }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{achieve a higher satisfaction }\DIFaddend without making someone worse off while
|
|
improving another voter\DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{'s satisfaction }\DIFaddend and that results cannot only mirror one
|
|
person's preferences, respectively.
|
|
|
|
\section{Conclusion}
|
|
\label{sec:conclusion}
|
|
|
|
We have \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{looked at different possibilities for conducting the voting and winner
|
|
selection process }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{ introduced different methods for preference elicitation and aggregating
|
|
a winning selection of projects }\DIFaddend for participatory budgeting. A budgeting
|
|
scenario in the mathematical sense has been described and methods for modeling
|
|
voter satisfaction are discussed. \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{A }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{Afterwards, a }\DIFaddend deeper view on approval-based
|
|
budgeting models has been given where the voters are assumed to have dichotomous
|
|
preferences. \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{The
|
|
complexity }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{In section~\ref{sec:approval-based budgeting} we summarize
|
|
complexity results }\DIFaddend of the different rules\DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{has been evaluated and contrasted }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{. Section~\ref{sec:normative axioms}
|
|
introduces three axioms by which participatory budgeting methods can be compared
|
|
}\DIFaddend to each other \DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{. We have seen that aggregation methods cannot only be compared in terms of
|
|
complexity but also by using axioms that formulate desirable outcomes}\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin \DIFadd{and which allow for these methods to be tested in scenarios such
|
|
as when a project gets a discount}\DIFaddend .
|
|
|
|
Future research might focus on not only incorporating monetary cost and
|
|
satisfaction into aggregating winning projects but also other factors such as
|
|
environmental costs, practicability of participatory budgeting methods as well
|
|
as scalability of these methods to a very high amount of projects and voters.
|
|
\DIFaddbegin
|
|
|
|
\DIFaddend Interesting further questions are posed by the possibility to combine projects
|
|
that are indivisible with projects that are divisible under one aggregation
|
|
rule, leading to a host of \emph{hybrid models}. Because a lot of the methods
|
|
that have been theorized by researchers have not yet been implemented in
|
|
practice, research on feasibility could lead to a better understanding of what
|
|
works and what does not.
|
|
\DIFaddbegin
|
|
|
|
\DIFaddend Another area of research could focus on allowing projects to be related to each
|
|
other and reflecting those inter-relations in the outcome while still
|
|
maintaining a grip on the explosion of possible solutions.
|
|
\DIFdelbegin \DIFdel{Exploring more axioms and rule configurations is important for achieving a
|
|
complete picture of the possibilities within the field of computational social
|
|
choice. }\DIFdelend \DIFaddbegin
|
|
|
|
\DIFaddend As a final point, research into user interface design during the voting phase
|
|
might uncover previously unknown impacts of ballot design on the resulting
|
|
selection of winning projects.
|
|
|
|
\printbibliography
|
|
|
|
\end{document}
|