Asymptotic Fair Division: Chores Are Easier Than Goods

When dividing items among agents, two of the most widely studied fairness notions are envy-freeness and proportionality. We consider a setting where $m$ chores are allocated to $n$ agents and the disutility of each chore for each agent is drawn from a probability distribution. We show that an envy-free allocation exists with high probability provided that $m \ge 2n$, and moreover, $m$ must be at least $n+\Theta(n)$ in order for the existence to hold. On the other hand, we prove that a proportional allocation is likely to exist as long as $m = \omega(1)$, and this threshold is asymptotically tight. Our results reveal a clear contrast with the allocation of goods, where a larger number of items is necessary to ensure existence for both notions.

@article{manurangsi2025_2504.20704,
  title={ Asymptotic Fair Division: Chores Are Easier Than Goods },
  author={ Pasin Manurangsi and Warut Suksompong },
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.20704},
  year={ 2025 }
}