In frictionless markets, utility maximization problems are typically solved either by stochastic control or by martingale methods. Beginning with the seminal paper of Davis and Norman [Math. Oper. Res. 15 (1990) 676–713], stochastic control theory has also been used to solve various problems of this type in the presence of proportional transaction costs. Martingale methods, on the other hand, h...

S risk refers to the risk of collapse of an entire complex system as a result of the actions taken by the individual component entities or agents that comprise the system. Systemic risk is an issue of great concern in modern financial markets as well as, more broadly, in the management of complex business and engineering systems. We propose an axiomatic framework for the measurement and managem...

This thesis deals with rational investors who maximize their expected utility in incomplete markets. In Part I, we consider models where incompleteness is induced by jumps and stochastic volatility. Using martingale methods we determine optimal investment strategies for power utility in a wide class of different models. Moreover, we show how first-order approximations of utility-based prices an...

This paper considers optimal staffing in service centers. We construct models for profit and cost centers using dynamic rate queues. To allow for practical optimal controls, we approximate the queueing process using a Gaussian random variable with equal mean and variance. We then appeal to the Pontryagin’s maximum principle to derive a closed form square root staffing (SRS) rule for optimal sta...

This study investigates the water demand of Indian manufacturing plants. It adopts an input distance function approach and approximates it by a translog form. Duality between cost function and input distance function is exploited to retrieve information concerning substitutability and the shadow price of water. The model is estimated, using linear programming approach, on a sample of 92 firms o...

Undesirable outputs (or bads) refer to the byproducts accompanied with desirable outputs (or goods) in a production process, e.g. sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide in coal-fired power generation. The shadow price of undesirable output, which may be interpreted as the opportunity cost of abating one additional unit of undesirable output in terms of the loss of desirable output, could provide val...

iran is one of the most energy-rich countries subsidizing energy carriers, especially in the agricultural sector, to the extent that the resulting growth is at the expense of the environment. this study tries to investigate the potential impacts of energy price reform on the agro-environment, based on the marginal abatement costs (macs) of emissions. firstly, the energy demand function of the a...

There are strong incentives to delay or accelerate investment to take advantage of predictable changes in after-tax prices. For sufficiently long-lived capital goods, these incentives are so strong that the intertemporal elasticity of investment demand is nearly infinite. For temporary tax changes, the equilibrium shadow price of long-lived capital goods should fully reflect the tax subsidy reg...

mation bound to almost all commercial goods or services. Familiar terms such as price discrimination, price wars, price fixing, consumer price indices, price rigidity, shadow prices, price tags, and so on signify the key role of prices in society and how markets can fail if the price-setting mechanism falters. At the level of the firm, pricing is the key means by which rents are appropriated: I...

abstract export of nonoil goods in economic activities is so important and its effect on economic and comparative growth is undeniable. so, emphasize on agricultural sector and development of export in this sector prepares good conditions, for iran, to be present at international markets relying its advantages. the study tries to recognize necessary policies to enhance agricultural export poten...