Cut-sharing across trees and efficient sequential sampling for SDDP with uncertainty in the RHS

Computational Optimization and Applications - Multistage stochastic optimization problems (MSOP) are a commonly used paradigm to model many decision processes in energy and finance. Usually, a set...     

Percentile residual life orders

In this paper we study a family of stochastic orders of random variables defined via the comparison of their percentile residual life functions. Some interpretations of these stochastic orders are given, and various properties of them are derived. The relationships to other stochastic orders are also studied. Finally, some applications in reliability theory and finance are described. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Efficient calibration for problems in option pricing

The pricing of derivatives has gained considerable importance in the finance industry and leads to challenging problems in numerical optimization. We focus on the numerical solution of a stochastic model for option prices. In particular, we are concerned with the calibration of these models to real data, which leads to large scale optimization problems. We consider the numerical solution of these optimization problems and give some indication how to reduce the complexity of these problems. Special emphasis is devoted to a multi-layer strategy which is embedded into the optimization iteration. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Introduction to financial optimization: Mathematical Programming Special Issue

Optimization models are effective for solving significant problems in finance, including long-term financial planning and other portfolio problems. Prominent examples include: asset-liability management for pension plans and insurance companies, integrated risk management for intermediaries, and long-term planning for individuals. Several applications will be briefly mentioned. Three distinct approaches are available for solving multi-stage financial optimization models: 1) dynamic stochastic control, 2) stochastic programming, and 3) optimizing a stochastic simulation model. We briefly review the pros and cons of these approaches, discuss further applications of financial optimization, and conclude with topics for future research. Published online December 15, 2000     

Stochastic programs without duality gaps

This paper studies dynamic stochastic optimization problems parameterized by a random variable. Such problems arise in many applications in operations research and mathematical finance. We give sufficient conditions for the existence of solutions and the absence of a duality gap. Our proof uses extended dynamic programming equations, whose validity is established under new relaxed conditions that generalize certain no-arbitrage conditions from mathematical finance.     

Abstract convergence theorem for quasi-convex optimization problems with applications

Abstract

Quasi-convex optimization is fundamental to the modelling of many practical problems in various fields such as economics, finance and industrial organization. Subgradient methods are practical iterative algorithms for solving large-scale quasi-convex optimization problems. In the present paper, focusing on quasi-convex optimization, we develop an abstract convergence theorem for a class of sequences, which satisfy a general basic inequality, under some suitable assumptions on parameters. The convergence properties in both function values and distances of iterates from the optimal solution set are discussed. The abstract convergence theorem covers relevant results of many types of subgradient methods studied in the literature, for either convex or quasi-convex optimization. Furthermore, we propose a new subgradient method, in which a perturbation of the successive direction is employed at each iteration. As an application of the abstract convergence theorem, we obtain the convergence results of the proposed subgradient method under the assumption of the Hölder condition of order p and by using the constant, diminishing or dynamic stepsize rules, respectively. A preliminary numerical study shows that the proposed method outperforms the standard, stochastic and primal-dual subgradient methods in solving the Cobb–Douglas production efficiency problem.     

串联式多级火箭成本问题初论

本文以火箭最大速度值的一般变化规律为基础, 改进了以前考虑火箭发射的成本问题的常用数学模型：最省的最省推进剂方案, 详细研究了各种情况下串联式多级火箭的成本问题,并以算例验证了所得的新成本计算模型的有效性.     

Assessing mutual funds’ corporate social responsibility: a multistakeholder-AHP based methodology

Currently, stochastic optimization on the one hand and multi-objective optimization on the other hand are rich and well-established special fields of Operations Research. Much less developed, however, is their intersection: the analysis of decision problems involving multiple objectives and stochastically represented uncertainty simultaneously. This is amazing, since in economic and managerial applications, the features of multiple decision criteria and uncertainty are very frequently co-occurring. Part of the existing quantitative approaches to deal with problems of this class apply scalarization techniques in order to reduce a given stochastic multi-objective problem to a stochastic single-objective one. The present article gives an overview over a second strand of the recent literature, namely methods that preserve the multi-objective nature of the problem during the computational analysis. We survey publications assuming a risk-neutral decision maker, but also articles addressing the situation where the decision maker is risk-averse. In the second case, modern risk measures play a prominent role, and generalizations of stochastic orders from the univariate to the multivariate case have recently turned out as a promising methodological tool. Modeling questions as well as issues of computational solution are discussed.     

Guaranteeing approach to solving quantile optimization problems

This paper presents a numerical method for solving quantile optimization problems, i.e. stochastic programming problems in which the quantile of the distribution of an objective function is the criterion to be optimized.     

Iterative Methods of Solving Stochastic Convex Feasibility Problems and Applications

The stochastic convex feasibility problem (SCFP) is the problem of finding almost common points of measurable families of closed convex subsets in reflexive and separable Banach spaces. In this paper we prove convergence criteria for two iterative algorithms devised to solve SCFPs. To do that, we first analyze the concepts of Bregman projection and Bregman function with emphasis on the properties of their local moduli of convexity. The areas of applicability of the algorithms we present include optimization problems, linear operator equations, inverse problems, etc., which can be represented as SCFPs and solved as such. Examples showing how these algorithms can be implemented are also given.     

The Million-Variable “March” for Stochastic Combinatorial Optimization

Combinatorial optimization problems have applications in a variety of sciences and engineering. In the presence of data uncertainty, these problems lead to stochastic combinatorial optimization problems which result in very large scale combinatorial optimization problems. In this paper, we report on the solution of some of the largest stochastic combinatorial optimization problems consisting of over a million binary variables. While the methodology is quite general, the specific application with which we conduct our experiments arises in stochastic server location problems. The main observation is that stochastic combinatorial optimization problems are comprised of loosely coupled subsystems. By taking advantage of the loosely coupled structure, we show that decomposition-coordination methods provide highly effective algorithms, and surpass the scalability of even the most efficiently implemented backtracking search algorithms.     

Managing inventory and service levels in a safety stock‐based inventory routing system with stochastic retailer demands

The inherent uncertainty in supply chain systems compels managers to be more perceptive to the stochastic nature of the systems' major parameters, such as suppliers' reliability, retailers' demands, and facility production capacities. To deal with the uncertainty inherent to the parameters of the stochastic supply chain optimization problems and to determine optimal or close to optimal policies, many approximate deterministic equivalent models are proposed. In this paper, we consider the stochastic periodic inventory routing problem modeled as chance‐constrained optimization problem. We then propose a safety stock‐based deterministic optimization model to determine near‐optimal solutions to this chance‐constrained optimization problem. We investigate the issue of adequately setting safety stocks at the supplier's warehouse and at the retailers so that the promised service levels to the retailers are guaranteed, while distribution costs as well as inventory throughout the system are optimized. The proposed deterministic models strive to optimize the safety stock levels in line with the planned service levels at the retailers. Different safety stock models are investigated and analyzed, and the results are illustrated on two comprehensively worked out cases. We conclude this analysis with some insights on how safety stocks are to be determined, allocated, and coordinated in stochastic periodic inventory routing problem. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the relation between complexity and uncertainty

In practical problem situations data are usually inherently unreliable. A mathematical representation of uncertainty leads to stochastic optimization problems. In this paper the complexity of stochastic combinatorial optimization problems is discussed. Surprisingly, certain stochastic versions of NP-hard determinstic combinatorial problems appear to be solvable in polynomial time.     

Multivariate Stochastic Orders Induced by Case-Control Sampling

It is shown that retrospective sampling induces stochastic order relations in case-control studies. More specifically if the regression function is increasing and the covariates are positively dependent, then the covariates for cases are larger, with respect to some multivariate stochastic order, than the covariates of the controls. Strong dependence concepts yield strong multivariate stochastic orders. Conversely, different multivariate stochastic orders imply different monotonicity properties on the regression function. The results carry over to marginal models, transformed models and to problems involving confounders. The results set forth a new theoretical foundation for the analysis of case-control studies.     

On nonsmooth and discontinuous problems of stochastic systems optimization

A class of stochastic optimization problems is analyzed that cannot be solved by deterministic and standard stochastic approximation methods. We consider risk-control problems, optimization of stochastic networks and discrete event systems, screening irreversible changes, and pollution control. The results of Ermoliev et al. are extended to the case of stochastic systems and general constraints. It is shown that the concept of stochastic mollifier gradient leads to easily implementable computational procedures for systems with Lipschitz and discontinuous objective functions. New optimality conditions are formulated for designing stochastic search procedures for constrained optimization of discontinuous systems.     

Orderings and Probability Functionals Consistent with Preferences

This paper unifies the classical theory of stochastic dominance and investor preferences with the recent literature on risk measures applied to the choice problem faced by investors. First, we summarize the main stochastic dominance rules used in the finance literature. Then we discuss the connection with the theory of integral stochastic orders and we introduce orderings consistent with investors' preferences. Thus, we classify them, distinguishing several categories of orderings associated with different classes of investors. Finally, we show how we can use risk measures and orderings consistent with some preferences to determine the investors' optimal choices.     

Robust stochastic dominance and its application to risk-averse optimization

We introduce a new preference relation in the space of random variables, which we call robust stochastic dominance. We consider stochastic optimization problems where risk-aversion is expressed by a robust stochastic dominance constraint. These are composite semi-infinite optimization problems with constraints on compositions of measures of risk and utility functions. We develop necessary and sufficient conditions of optimality for such optimization problems in the convex case. In the nonconvex case, we derive necessary conditions of optimality under additional smoothness assumptions of some mappings involved in the problem.     

On the stochastic optimization problems of plastic metal working processes under stochastic initial conditions

The article is devoted to mathematical modeling of problems of stochastic optimization of the plastic metal working. Classification and mathematical statements of such problems are proposed. Several calculation techniques of the single goal function are presented. The probability theory and the Fuzzy Numbers were applied for solution of the problems of stochastic optimization.     

Compromise programming with Tchebycheff norm for discrete stochastic orders

This paper presents a method of decision making with returns in the form of discrete random variables. The proposed method is based on two approaches: stochastic orders and compromise programming used in multi-objective programming. Stochastic orders are represented by stochastic dominance and inverse stochastic dominance. Compromise programming uses the augmented Tchebycheff norm. This norm, in special cases, takes form of the Kantorovich and Kolmogorov probability metrics. Moreover, in the paper we show applications of the presented methodology in the following problems: projects selections, decision tree and choosing a lottery.