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Placement Optimization in Refugee Resettlement

Ahani, Narges ; Andersson, Tommy LU ; Martinello, Alessandro LU ; Teytelboym, Alexander and Trapp, Andrew C. (2021) In Operations Research 69(5). p.1468-1486
Abstract
Every year, tens of thousands of refugees are resettled to dozens of host countries. Although there is growing evidence that the initial placement of refugee families profoundly affects their lifetime outcomes, there have been few attempts to optimize resettlement decisions. We integrate machine learning and integer optimization into an innovative software tool, Annie™ Matching and Outcome Optimization for Refugee Empowerment (Annie™ Moore), that assists a U.S. resettlement agency with matching refugees to their initial placements. Our software suggests optimal placements while giving substantial autonomy to the resettlement staff to fine-tune recommended matches, thereby streamlining their resettlement operations. Initial back testing... (More)
Every year, tens of thousands of refugees are resettled to dozens of host countries. Although there is growing evidence that the initial placement of refugee families profoundly affects their lifetime outcomes, there have been few attempts to optimize resettlement decisions. We integrate machine learning and integer optimization into an innovative software tool, Annie™ Matching and Outcome Optimization for Refugee Empowerment (Annie™ Moore), that assists a U.S. resettlement agency with matching refugees to their initial placements. Our software suggests optimal placements while giving substantial autonomy to the resettlement staff to fine-tune recommended matches, thereby streamlining their resettlement operations. Initial back testing indicates that Annie™ can improve short-run employment outcomes by 22%–38%. We conclude by discussing several directions for future work. (Less)
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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
refugee resettlement, matching, integer optimization, machine learning, humanitarian operations
in
Operations Research
volume
69
issue
5
pages
1468 - 1486
publisher
Inst Operations Research Management Sciences
external identifiers
  • scopus:85113147158
ISSN
0030-364X
DOI
10.1287/opre.2020.2093
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c74d915b-3385-474d-9b96-8b781e98a28c
date added to LUP
2021-05-12 14:24:53
date last changed
2022-04-27 01:57:12
@article{c74d915b-3385-474d-9b96-8b781e98a28c,
  abstract     = {{Every year, tens of thousands of refugees are resettled to dozens of host countries. Although there is growing evidence that the initial placement of refugee families profoundly affects their lifetime outcomes, there have been few attempts to optimize resettlement decisions. We integrate machine learning and integer optimization into an innovative software tool, Annie™ Matching and Outcome Optimization for Refugee Empowerment (Annie™ Moore), that assists a U.S. resettlement agency with matching refugees to their initial placements. Our software suggests optimal placements while giving substantial autonomy to the resettlement staff to fine-tune recommended matches, thereby streamlining their resettlement operations. Initial back testing indicates that Annie™ can improve short-run employment outcomes by 22%–38%. We conclude by discussing several directions for future work.}},
  author       = {{Ahani, Narges and Andersson, Tommy and Martinello, Alessandro and Teytelboym, Alexander and Trapp, Andrew C.}},
  issn         = {{0030-364X}},
  keywords     = {{refugee resettlement; matching; integer optimization; machine learning; humanitarian operations}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{1468--1486}},
  publisher    = {{Inst Operations Research Management Sciences}},
  series       = {{Operations Research}},
  title        = {{Placement Optimization in Refugee Resettlement}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/opre.2020.2093}},
  doi          = {{10.1287/opre.2020.2093}},
  volume       = {{69}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}