Strategic Queues with Priority Classes
Provides a theoretical benchmark for queueing systems with priority classes, relevant for service operations and network design.
This paper analyzes equilibrium joining and reneging strategies in an M/M/1 queue with two priority classes, finding that priority reduces welfare compared to a non-priority system, with social welfare losses of up to 20% under certain parameters.
We consider a strategic M/M/1 queueing model under a first-come-first-served regime, where customers are split into two classes and class $A$ has priority over class $B$. Customers can decide whether to join the queue or balk, and, in case they have joined the queue, whether and when to renege. We study the equilibrium strategies and compare the equilibrium outcome and the social optimum in the two cases where the social optimum is or is not constrained by priority.