Generalized Kuhn-Tucker Conditions for N-Firm Stochastic Irreversible Investment under Limited Resources

In this paper we study a continuous time, optimal stochastic investment problem under limited resources in a market with N firms. The investment processes are subject to a time-dependent stochastic constraint. Rather than using a dynamic programming approach, we exploit the concavity of the profit functional to derive some necessary and sufficient first order conditions for the corresponding Social Planner optimal policy. Our conditions are a stochastic infinite-dimensional generalization of the Kuhn-Tucker Theorem. The Lagrange multiplier takes the form of a nonnegative optional random measure on [0,T] which is flat off the set of times for which the constraint is binding, i.e. when all the fuel is spent. As a subproduct we obtain an enlightening interpretation of the first order conditions for a single firm in Bank (2005). In the infinite-horizon case, with operating profit functions of Cobb-Douglas type, our method allows the explicit calculation of the optimal policy in terms of the `base capacity' process, i.e. the unique solution of the Bank and El Karoui representation problem (2004).Comment: 25 page

Optimal Dynamic Procurement Policies for a Storable Commodity with L\'evy Prices and Convex Holding Costs

In this paper we study a continuous time stochastic inventory model for a commodity traded in the spot market and whose supply purchase is affected by price and demand uncertainty. A firm aims at meeting a random demand of the commodity at a random time by maximizing total expected profits. We model the firm's optimal procurement problem as a singular stochastic control problem in which controls are nondecreasing processes and represent the cumulative investment made by the firm in the spot market (a so-called stochastic "monotone follower problem"). We assume a general exponential L\'evy process for the commodity's spot price, rather than the commonly used geometric Brownian motion, and general convex holding costs. We obtain necessary and sufficient first order conditions for optimality and we provide the optimal procurement policy in terms of a "base inventory" process; that is, a minimal time-dependent desirable inventory level that the firm's manager must reach at any time. In particular, in the case of linear holding costs and exponentially distributed demand, we are also able to obtain the explicit analytic form of the optimal policy and a probabilistic representation of the optimal revenue. The paper is completed by some computer drawings of the optimal inventory when spot prices are given by a geometric Brownian motion and by an exponential jump-diffusion process. In the first case we also make a numerical comparison between the value function and the revenue associated to the classical static "newsvendor" strategy.Comment: 28 pages, 3 figures; improved presentation, added new results and section

Continuous-Time Public Good Contribution under Uncertainty

Ferrari G, Riedel F, Steg J-H. Continuous-Time Public Good Contribution under Uncertainty. Center for Mathematical Economics Working Papers. Vol 485 Version February 2015. Bielefeld: Center for Mathematical Economics; 2015.We study a continuous-time problem of public good contribution under uncertainty for an economy with a finite number of agents. Each agent aims to maximize his expected utility allocating his initial wealth over a given time period between private consumption and repeated but irreversible contributions to increase the stock of some public good. We study the corresponding social planner problem and the case of strategic interaction between the agents. These problems are set up as stochastic control problems with both monotone and classical controls representing the cumulative contribution into the public good and the consumption of the private good, respectively. We characterize the optimal investment policies by a set of necessary and sufficient stochastic Kuhn-Tucker conditions, which in turn allow to identify a universal signal process that triggers the public good investments. Further we show that our model exhibits a dynamic free rider effect. We explicitly evaluate it in a symmetric Black-Scholes setting with Cobb-Douglas utilities and we show that uncertainty and irreversibility of public good provisions need not affect the degree of free-riding

Continuous-Time Public Good Contribution under Uncertainty

Ferrari G, Riedel F, Steg J-H. Continuous-Time Public Good Contribution under Uncertainty. Center for Mathematical Economics Working Papers. Vol 485. Bielefeld: Center for Mathematical Economics; 2013.We study a continuous-time problem of optimal public good contribution under uncertainty for an economy with an finite number of agents. Each agent can allocate his wealth between private consumption and repeated but irreversible contributions to increase the stock of some public good. We study the corresponding social planner problem and the case of strategic interaction between the agents and we characterize the optimal investment policies by a set of necessary and sufficient stochastic Kuhn-Tucker conditions. Suitably combining arguments from Duality Theory and the General Theory of Stochastic Processes, we prove an abstract existence result for a Nash equilibrium of our public good contribution game. Also, we show that our model exhibits a dynamic free rider effect. We explicitly evaluate it in a symmetric Black-Scholes setting with Cobb-Douglas utilities and we show that uncertainty and irreversibility of public good provisions do not affect free-riding

Investment, irreversibility, and financing constraints in transition economies

Using a panel of 4223 Bulgarian, Czech, Polish, and Romanian firms, over the period 1998-2005, we show that financially constrained firms likely to face irreversibility constraints exhibit low and insignificant sensitivities of investment to cash flow. These firms typically use their cash flow to accumulate cash instead of investing. Our findings provide a new explanation for why some financially constrained firms may exhibit low investment-cash flow sensitivities. Specifically, controlling for investment irreversibility may matter for the interpretation of these sensitivities.Investment; Irreversibility; Cash flow; Cash accumulation; Capital market imperfections

On a Class of Infinite-Dimensional Singular Stochastic Control Problems

Federico S, Ferrari G, Riedel F, Röckner M. On a Class of Infinite-Dimensional Singular Stochastic Control Problems. Center for Mathematical Economics Working Papers. Vol 614. Bielefeld: Center for Mathematical Economics; 2019.We study a class of infinite-dimensional singular stochastic control problems with applications in economic theory and finance. The control process linearly affects an abstract evolution equation on a suitable partially-ordered infinite-dimensional space X, it takes values in the positive cone of X, and it has right-continuous and nondecreasing paths. We first provide a rigorous formulation of the problem by properly defining the controlled dynamics and integrals with respect to the control process. We then exploit the concave structure of our problem and derive necessary and sufficient first-order conditions for optimality. The latter are finally exploited in a specification of the model where we find an explicit expression of the optimal control. The techniques used are those of semigroup theory, vector-valued integration, convex analysis, and general theory of stochastic processes