The Hungarian Method for the assignment problem

Assuming that numerical scores are available for the performance of each of n persons on each of n jobs, the ‘assignment problem’ is the quest for an assignment of persons to jobs so that the sum of the n scores so obtained is as large as possible. It is shown that ideas latent in the work of two Hungarian mathematicians may be exploited to yield a new method of solving this problem. This is a reprint of Kuhn's (1955) seminal paper.