On the optimal value function for certain linear programs with unbounded optimal solution sets

Often, the coefficients of a linear programming problem represent estimates of true values of data or are subject to systematic variations. In such cases, it is useful to perturb the original data and to either compute, estimate, or otherwise describe the values of the functionf which gives the optimal value of the linear program for each perturbation. If the right-hand derivative off at a chosen point exists and is calculated, then the values off in a neighborhood of that point can be estimated. However, if the optimal solution set of either the primal problem or the dual problem is unbounded, then this derivative may not exist. In this note, we show that, frequently, even if the primal problem or the dual problem has an unbounded optimal solution set, the nature of the values off at points near a given point can be investigated. To illustrate the potential utility of our results, their application to two types of problems is also explained.This research was supported, in part, by the Center for Econometrics and Decision Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.The author would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their most useful comments on earlier versions of this paper.