Introductory description

Computational Social Choice (COMSOC) addresses problems at the interface of social choice theory and computer science. Social choice theory is the formal study of collective decision-making processes, an important example of which are voting rules. We discuss concepts from social choice theory and investigate axiomatic and computational aspects.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Specific topics include: choice theory, Arrow's impossibility result, restricted domains of preferences, approval voting, scoring rules (plurality, Borda, etc.), Kemeny's rule, tournament solutions, strategic voting, multiwinner elections, apportionment methods, and proportional representation.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• understand fundamental tradeoffs in the context of collective decision making
• model preferences and aggregation methods
• develop (efficient) algorithms for collective decision making
• analyse axiomatic and computational properties of preference aggregation problems

Indicative reading list

See Talis Aspire link

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Interdisciplinary

Computational Social Choice is a research field at the intersection of computer science and economics (as part of the area often referred to as "Economics and Computation"). It is also related to mathematics, philosophy, and (theoretical) political science.

Subject specific skills

Understanding of fundamental tradeoffs when making collective decisions;
modelling preference aggregation methods and assessing their properties;
developing efficient algorithms for preference aggregation problems;
analysing axiomatic properties of voting rules.

Transferable skills

Critical and strategic thinking;
problem solving;
fair and representative collective decision-making.