Fair Sequential Search

We model fairness within the context of search. To do this, consider sequential search where the searcher is uncertain about the underlying pool of candidates. Fairness is introduced by requiring that candidates cannot be discriminated against by non-merit characteristics or by the order in which they are interviewed. We find that search is fair if and only if it follows a cutoff strategy that prescribes to accept the first candidate above the bar. Importantly, the concern for fairness comes at a relatively small cost. The optimal unrestricted search has less than twice the value of the optimal fair search