Controlled diffusion processes

This article gives an overview of the developments in controlled diffusion processes, emphasizing key results regarding existence of optimal controls and their characterization via dynamic programming for a variety of cost criteria and structural assumptions. Stochastic maximum principle and control under partial observations (equivalently, control of nonlinear filters) are also discussed. Several other related topics are briefly sketched.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/154957805100000131 in the Probability Surveys (http://www.i-journals.org/ps/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

A multidimensional singular stochastic control problem on a finite time horizon

A singular stochastic control problem in n dimensions with timedependent coefficients on a finite time horizon is considered. We show that the value function for this problem is a generalized solution of the corresponding HJB equation with locally bounded second derivatives with respect to the space variables and the first derivative with respect to time. Moreover, we prove that an optimal control exists and is unique

General indifference pricing with small transaction costs

We study the utility indifference price of a European option in the context of small transaction costs. Considering the general setup allowing consumption and a general utility function at final time T, we obtain an asymptotic expansion of the utility indifference price as a function of the asymptotic expansions of the utility maximization problems with and without the European contingent claim. We use the tools developed in [54] and [48] based on homogenization and viscosity solutions to characterize these expansions. Finally we study more precisely the example of exponential utilities, in particular recovering under weaker assumptions the results of [6].Comment: 43 page

Dynamic programming approach to principal-agent problems

We consider a general formulation of the Principal-Agent problem with a lump-sum payment on a finite horizon, providing a systematic method for solving such problems. Our approach is the following: we first find the contract that is optimal among those for which the agent's value process allows a dynamic programming representation, for which the agent's optimal effort is straightforward to find. We then show that the optimization over the restricted family of contracts represents no loss of generality. As a consequence, we have reduced this non-zero sum stochastic differential game to a stochastic control problem which may be addressed by the standard tools of control theory. Our proofs rely on the backward stochastic differential equations approach to non-Markovian stochastic control, and more specifically, on the recent extensions to the second order case

Additive Control of Stochastic Linear Systems with Finite Horizon

We consider a dynamic system whose state is governed by a linear stochastic differential equation with time-dependent coefficients. The control acts additively on the state of the system. Our objective is to minimize an integral cost which depends upon the evolution of the state and the total variation of the control process. It is proved that the optimal cost is the unique solution of an appropriate free boundary problem in a space-time domain. By using some decomposition arguments, the problems of a two-sided control, i.e. optimal corrections, and the case with constraints on the resources, i.e. finite fuel, can be reduced to a simpler case of only one-sided control, i.e. a monotone follower. These results are applied to solving some examples by the so-called method of similarity solutions

Weak equilibria for time-inconsistent control: with applications to investment-withdrawal decisions

This paper considers time-inconsistent problems when control and stopping strategies are required to be made simultaneously (called stopping control problems by us). We first formulate the timeinconsistent stopping control problems under general multi-dimensional controlled diffusion model and propose a formal definition of their equilibria. We show that an admissible pair $(\hat{u},C)$ of controlstopping policy is equilibrium if and only if the auxiliary function associated with it solves the extended HJB system, providing a methodology to verify or exclude equilibrium solutions. We provide several examples to illustrate applications to mathematical finance and control theory. For a problem whose reward function endogenously depends on the current wealth, the equilibrium is explicitly obtained. For another model with a non-exponential discount, we prove that any constant proportion strategy can not be equilibrium. We further show that general non-constant equilibrium exists and is described by singular boundary value problems. This example shows that considering our combined problems is essentially different from investigating them separately. In the end, we also provide a two-dimensional example with a hyperbolic discount