Buyout options allow bidders to instantly purchase at a specified price an item listed for sale through an online auction. A temporary buyout option disappears once a regular bid above the reserve price is made, while a permanent option remains available until it is exercised or the auction...

Many strategies for asset allocation involve the computation of expected returns and the covariance or correlation matrix of financial instruments returns. How much of each instrument to own is determined by an attempt to minimize risk (the variance of linear combinations of investments in these...

In this thesis, we examine some puzzles in finance from an evolutionary perspective. We first provide a literature review of evolutionary psychology, and discuss three main findings; the frequentist hypothesis, applications from risk-sensitive optimal foraging theory, and the cheater detection...

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, aviation security policy has remained a focus of national attention. We develop mathematical models to address some prominent problems in aviation security. We explore first whether securing aviation deserves priority over other potential...

Traditionally, industrial buyers have focused on long-term contracts for many of their purchasing needs. Recently, however, some high-tech manufacturers have started looking at more flexible contracts for non-strategic components, which enables them to buy from a variety of suppliers and the...

Theorists suggest the rising value of human capital will mean greater participation by employees in the ownership and governance of firms. This thesis explores aspects of these claims by analyzing the competitive effects of the allocation of ownership and authority in ad agencies and airlines....

Pricing of a perishable product over a multi-period time horizon is a challenging problem under an oligopolistic market framework. We propose and study a model for multi-period pricing in an oligopolistic market for a single perishable product. Each participating seller in the market has a fixed...

Most of the logistics systems involve a multi-level distribution system structure due to value added by a multi-level configuration. Interactions of these levels, i.e. echelons, should be considered while making strategic decisions regarding the choice of the size, number and location of...

We present a methodology for deriving robust airline schedules that are not vulnerable to disruptions caused by bad weather. In this methodology, the existing schedule is partitioned into independent sub-schedules or layers - prioritized on the basis of revenue - that provide airlines with a...