Managing scarce resources is a core economic task. Do you make good allocation decisions? Find out by playing a short version of the Assignment Game. The Game asks you to make decisions in a complex, numerical environment and tests your skill in managing resources
What is the Assignment Game?
In the game you are a manager who is assigning tasks to your team. Different members of your team have different skill profiles. Your job is to help the team achieve its potential by figuring out who should do what.
What does the game measure?
The game measures your ability to manage resources, i.e. your ‘allocative skill’. You'll gather information about your team’s strengths and weaknesses, then make decisions in a complex numerical environment. If you’d like to read more about theory of ‘allocative skill’ see our working paper here.
Why does it matter for the future of work?
Jobs increasingly require workers to make good decisions. The share of all jobs requiring decision-making increased from 6 percent in 1960 to 34 percent in 2018. Nearly half the increase has been since 2007 (for more on these trends see our working paper). The Assignment Game is a measure of decision-making skill. Our fieldwork has found that Assignment Game scores predict income slightly better than other skill tests like non-verbal IQ and numeracy. Assignment Game scores still predict income after controlling for other skills (e.g. IQ). Last, the benefits of allocative skill were greater in decision-intensive occupations.
Given the longstanding trends towards decision-intensive occupations, allocative skill is likely to increase in importance.
Play the game!
To get a rough estimate of your score, play the Short Version (~5 minutes)
To get a more precise estimate, play the longer version (~15 minutes): coming soon!
