NP-hardness results for the aggregation of linear orders into median orders

Abstract Given a collection of individual preferences defined on a same finite set of candidates, we consider the problem of aggregating them into a collective preference minimizing the number of disagreements with respect to and verifying some structural properties. We study the complexity of this problem when the individual preferences belong to any set containing linear orders and when the collective preference must verify different properties, for instance transitivity. We show that the considered aggregation problems are NP-hard for different types of collective preferences (including linear orders, acyclic relations, complete preorders, interval orders, semiorders, quasi-orders or weak orders), if the number of individual preferences is sufficiently large. Keywords Complexity

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2008
• Where: ANOR
• Authors: Olivier Hudry
• Keywords: ANOR 2008, Collective Preferences, Individual Preferences, Linear Orders