Impact of Fairness Regulations on Institutions' Policies and Population
  Qualifications
Hamidreza Montaseri Amin Gohari
The proliferation of algorithmic systems has fueled discussions surrounding
the regulation and control of their social impact. Herein, we consider a system
whose primary objective is to maximize utility by selecting the most qualified
individuals. To promote demographic parity in the selection algorithm, we
consider penalizing discrimination across social groups. We examine conditions
under which a discrimination penalty can effectively reduce disparity in the
selection. Additionally, we explore the implications of such a penalty when
individual qualifications may evolve over time in response to the imposed
penalizing policy. We identify scenarios where the penalty could hinder the
natural attainment of equity within the population. Moreover, we propose
certain conditions that can counteract this undesirable outcome, thus ensuring
fairness.