Subject to Availability
Option Production under Complementary Inputs
Research question
When policy options require complementary inputs, which packages actually create new actionable options and how much does each input contribute?
Abstract
Policies create options by supplying complementary inputs. Each option can be described by the minimal input paths that make it actionable. A package surface has a path representation exactly when it is monotone; nonnegative Möbius coefficients characterize the case with one exact repair set per option and recover the mass attached to every set. Incomplete package support yields sharp linear-program bounds. A minimum-enablement dual prices the supplied inputs and assigns expenditure across providers. Childcare and work provide the application. In the 2024 ACS, model-assisted job-compatibility mass rises from 0.83 percent under an 8 a.m.–noon window to 23.74 percent under a 7:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. package, and 93.1 percent of repaired mass requires at least two timing blocks. A randomized childcare–cash factorial bounds short-term response mass attributable to either supply route between 3.17 and 5.15 percentage points. A cross-fitted transport design links the trial to the 2019–2020 Uganda National Panel Survey. The childcare-factor effect on full-day use is 0.442 in the trial and 0.429 in the supported nine-district target at short term; the corresponding long-term effects are 0.313 and 0.204. Direct set measurements, randomized outcomes, population transport, and provider accounts distinguish option production, use, and resource provision.
In one sentence
A policy option often appears only when several complementary inputs are available together, so evaluating inputs one at a time can miss what the package actually creates.