# Incentives to Offer Algorithmic Recourse

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.12884 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.12884/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 8 of its 29 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 27 Jan 2023.

## Builds on (most cited first, 8 of 8)

- [Retiring Adult: New Datasets for Fair Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.04884/) (2021)
- [Actionable Recourse in Linear Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1809.06514/) (2018)
- [Strategic Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1506.06980/) (2015)
- [Algorithmic Recourse: from Counterfactual Explanations to Interventions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.06278/) (2020)
- [Explainable Machine Learning in Deployment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.06342/) (2019)
- [On the Fairness of Causal Algorithmic Recourse](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.06529/) (2020)
- [Manipulation-Proof Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.03865/) (2020)
- [Bayesian Persuasion for Algorithmic Recourse](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.06283/) (2021)

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Learning Decision Trees and Forests with Algorithmic Recourse](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.01098/) (2024)
- [Algorithmic Recourse with Missing Values](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.14606/) (2023)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Algorithmic recourse promises to help applicants rejected by automated systems by explaining the changes needed to secure acceptance. What incentive do decision-makers, such as banks and employers, have to offer recourse? We study this question in a screening model in which recourse is both productive and selective: completing recourse improves an applicant's value to the decision-maker, but applicants differ in their cost of completion. The optimal policy is a threshold rule: reject applicants with low scores, offer recourse to an intermediate range of scores, and accept applicants with high scores outright. Because the intermediate range spans the cutoff that would separate acceptance from rejection when recourse is not available, some marginal applicants gain a new path to acceptance, while others---who would have been accepted outright---must now clear a costly hurdle.