# A Learning-Based Hybrid Decision Framework for Matching Systems with User Departure Detection

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.22412 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.22412/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 6 of its 25 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 25 Feb 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [Smart "Predict, then Optimize"](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1710.08005/) (2017)
- [Decision-Focused Learning: Foundations, State of the Art, Benchmark and Future Opportunities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.13565/) (2023)
- [A Survey of Contextual Optimization Methods for Decision Making under Uncertainty](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.10374/) (2023)
- [Greedy Algorithm for Multiway Matching with Bounded Regret](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.04622/) (2021)
- [Dynamic Bipartite Matching Market with Arrivals and Departures](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.10824/) (2021)
- [Superiority of Instantaneous Decisions in Thin Dynamic Matching Markets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.10287/) (2022)

## Abstract (arXiv)

In matching markets such as kidney exchanges and freight exchanges, delayed matching has been shown to improve overall market efficiency. The benefits of delay are highly sensitive to participants' sojourn times and departure behavior, and delaying matches can impose significant costs, including longer waiting times and increased market congestion. These competing effects make fixed matching policies inherently inflexible in dynamic environments. We propose a learning-based Hybrid framework that adaptively combines immediate and delayed matching. The framework continuously collects data on user departures over time, estimates the underlying departure distribution via regression, and determines whether to delay matching in the subsequent period based on a decision threshold that governs the system's tolerance for matching efficiency loss. The proposed framework can substantially reduce waiting times and congestion while sacrificing only a limited amount of matching efficiency. By dynamically adjusting its matching strategy, the Hybrid framework enables system performance to flexibly interpolate between purely greedy and purely patient policies, offering a robust and adaptive alternative to static matching mechanisms.