Fixed Points and Stochastic Meritocracies: A Long-Term Perspective

We study group fairness in the context of feedback loops induced by meritocratic selection into programs that themselves confer additional advantage, like college admissions. We introduce a stylized, yet novel inter-generational model for the setting and analyze it in situations where there are no underlying differences between two populations. When the benefit of the program (or the harm of not getting into it) is completely symmetric, we show that disparities between the two populations will vanish on average in the long term, although in the short term disparities will continue to arise and dissipate cyclically. Further, the time an accumulated advantage takes to dissipate can be significant, and increases as a function of the relative importance of the program in conveying benefits. Interestingly, significant disparities can arise purely due to randomness even from completely symmetric initial conditions, especially when populations are small. The introduction of even a slight asymmetry, where the group that has accumulated an advantage becomes slightly preferred, leads to a completely different outcome. In these instances, starting from completely symmetric initial conditions, disparities between groups arise stochastically and then persist over time, yielding a permanent advantage for one group. Our analysis precisely characterizes conditions under which disparities persist or diminish, with a particular focus on the role of the scarcity of available spots in the program and its effectiveness. We also present extensive simulations in a richer model that further support our theoretical results in the simpler, stylized model. Our findings are relevant for the design and implementation of algorithmic fairness interventions in similar selection processes.