In this paper we compare expected loss minimization to worst-case or minimax analysis in the design of simple Taylor-style rules for monetary policy using a small model estimated for the euro area by Orphanides and Wieland (2000). We find that rules optimized under a minimax objective in the...

The inability of standard intertemporal economic models under resonable values of the key parameters to generate the observed equity premium is termed as the equity premium puzzle. In order to resolve the puzzle, we propose a new approach based on worst-case analysis where agents make decisions...

We consider the problem of finding the minimum of a real-valued multivariate polynomial function constrained in a compact set defined by polynomial inequalities and equalities. This problem, called polynomial optimization problem (POP), is generally nonconvex and has been of growing interest to...

Robust portfolio optimization aims to maximize the worst-case portfolio return given that the asset returns are allowed to vary within a prescribed uncertainty set. If the uncertainty set is not too large, the resulting portfolio performs well under normal market conditions. However, its...

We consider polynomial optimization problems pervaded by a sparsity pattern. It has been shown in [1, 2] that the optimal solution of a polynomial programming problem with structured sparsity can be computed by solving a series of semidefinite relaxations that possess the same kind of sparsity....

In this paper, we address the global optimization of two interesting nonconvex problems in finance. We relax the normality assumption underlying the classical Markowitz mean-variance portfolio optimization model and consider the incorporation of skewness (third moment) and kurtosis (fourth...

Recently, given the first few moments, tight upper and lower bounds of the no arbitrage prices can be obtained by solving semidefinite programming (SDP) or linear programming (LP) problems. In this paper, we compare SDP and LP formulations of the European-style options pricing problem and prefer...