Optimal test allocation

Jeffrey Ely; Andrea Galeotti; Ole Jann; Jakub Steiner

doi:10.1016/j.jet.2021.105236

Optimal test allocation

Jeffrey Ely, Andrea Galeotti, Ole Jann, Jakub Steiner^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Economics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

A health authority chooses a binary action for each of several individuals that differ in their pretest probabilities of being infectious and in the additive losses associated with two types of decision errors. The authority is endowed with a portfolio of tests that differ in their sensitivities and specificities. We derive a simple necessary condition for optimality of test allocation. In special cases, precision parameters of the allocated test are monotone in the individuals' types. We characterize the marginal benefit of a test, provide an algorithmic solution for the test-allocation problem and consider the benefits of confirmatory testing.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	105236
Journal	Journal of Economic Theory
Volume	193
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jet.2021.105236
State	Published - Apr 2021

Keywords

Epidemy control
Test allocation
Test sensitivity and specificity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Economics and Econometrics

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10.1016/j.jet.2021.105236

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title = "Optimal test allocation",

abstract = "A health authority chooses a binary action for each of several individuals that differ in their pretest probabilities of being infectious and in the additive losses associated with two types of decision errors. The authority is endowed with a portfolio of tests that differ in their sensitivities and specificities. We derive a simple necessary condition for optimality of test allocation. In special cases, precision parameters of the allocated test are monotone in the individuals' types. We characterize the marginal benefit of a test, provide an algorithmic solution for the test-allocation problem and consider the benefits of confirmatory testing.",

keywords = "Epidemy control, Test allocation, Test sensitivity and specificity",

author = "Jeffrey Ely and Andrea Galeotti and Ole Jann and Jakub Steiner",

note = "Funding Information: We benefited from comments of Olivier Gossner, Pavel Kocourek and Flavio Toxvaerd. This work was supported by the European Research Council grant 770652 (Jann and Steiner), Experientia Foundation (Steiner), and European Research Council grant 724356 (Andrea Galeotti). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Elsevier Inc.",

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AU - Ely, Jeffrey

AU - Galeotti, Andrea

AU - Jann, Ole

AU - Steiner, Jakub

N1 - Funding Information: We benefited from comments of Olivier Gossner, Pavel Kocourek and Flavio Toxvaerd. This work was supported by the European Research Council grant 770652 (Jann and Steiner), Experientia Foundation (Steiner), and European Research Council grant 724356 (Andrea Galeotti). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Elsevier Inc.

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N2 - A health authority chooses a binary action for each of several individuals that differ in their pretest probabilities of being infectious and in the additive losses associated with two types of decision errors. The authority is endowed with a portfolio of tests that differ in their sensitivities and specificities. We derive a simple necessary condition for optimality of test allocation. In special cases, precision parameters of the allocated test are monotone in the individuals' types. We characterize the marginal benefit of a test, provide an algorithmic solution for the test-allocation problem and consider the benefits of confirmatory testing.

AB - A health authority chooses a binary action for each of several individuals that differ in their pretest probabilities of being infectious and in the additive losses associated with two types of decision errors. The authority is endowed with a portfolio of tests that differ in their sensitivities and specificities. We derive a simple necessary condition for optimality of test allocation. In special cases, precision parameters of the allocated test are monotone in the individuals' types. We characterize the marginal benefit of a test, provide an algorithmic solution for the test-allocation problem and consider the benefits of confirmatory testing.

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KW - Test sensitivity and specificity

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Optimal test allocation

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Keywords

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