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  • © 2011

Introduction to Stochastic Programming

  • Well-paced and wide-ranging introduction to this subject
  • Prime goal is to help students develop an intuition on how to model uncertainty into mathematical problems
  • Provides a first course in stochastic programming suitable for students
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxv
  2. Models

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Introduction and Examples

      • John R. Birge, François Louveaux
      Pages 3-54
    3. Uncertainty and Modeling Issues

      • John R. Birge, François Louveaux
      Pages 55-100
  3. Basic Properties

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 101-101
    2. Basic Properties and Theory

      • John R. Birge, François Louveaux
      Pages 103-161
    3. The Value of Information and the Stochastic Solution

      • John R. Birge, François Louveaux
      Pages 163-177
  4. Solution Methods

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 179-179
    2. Two-Stage Recourse Problems

      • John R. Birge, François Louveaux
      Pages 181-263
    3. Multistage Stochastic Programs

      • John R. Birge, François Louveaux
      Pages 265-287
    4. Stochastic Integer Programs

      • John R. Birge, François Louveaux
      Pages 289-338
  5. Approximation and Sampling Methods

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 339-339
    2. Evaluating and Approximating Expectations

      • John R. Birge, François Louveaux
      Pages 341-387
    3. Monte Carlo Methods

      • John R. Birge, François Louveaux
      Pages 389-415
    4. Multistage Approximations

      • John R. Birge, François Louveaux
      Pages 417-448
  6. Back Matter

    Pages 449-485

About this book

The aim of stochastic programming is to find optimal decisions in problems  which involve uncertain data. This field is currently developing rapidly with contributions from many disciplines including operations research, mathematics, and probability. At the same time, it is now being applied in a wide variety of subjects ranging from agriculture to financial planning and from industrial engineering to computer networks. This textbook provides a first course in stochastic programming suitable for students with a basic knowledge of linear programming, elementary analysis, and probability. The authors aim to present a broad overview of the main themes and methods of the subject. Its prime goal is to help students develop an intuition on how to model uncertainty into mathematical problems, what uncertainty changes bring to the decision process, and what techniques help to manage uncertainty in solving the problems.

In this extensively updated new edition there is more material on methods and examples including several new approaches for discrete variables, new results on risk measures in modeling and Monte Carlo sampling methods, a new chapter on relationships to other methods including approximate dynamic programming, robust optimization and online methods.

The book is highly illustrated with chapter summaries and many examples and exercises. Students, researchers and practitioners in operations research and the optimization area will find it particularly of interest.

Review of First Edition:

"The discussion on modeling issues, the large number of examples used to illustrate the material, and the breadth of the coverage make 'Introduction to Stochastic Programming' an ideal textbook for the area." (Interfaces, 1998)

Reviews

From the reviews of the second edition:

“Help the students to understand how to model uncertainty into mathematical optimization problems, what uncertainty brings to the decision process and which techniques help to manage uncertainty in solving the problems. … certainly attract also the wide spectrum of readers whose main interest lies in possible exploitation of stochastic programming methodology and will help them to find their own way to treat actual problems using stochastic programming methods. As a whole, the three main building blocks of stochastic programming … are well represented and balanced.” (Jitka Dupačová, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1223, 2011)

Authors and Affiliations

  • , Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA

    John R. Birge

  • , Department of Business Administration, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium

    François Louveaux

About the authors

John R. Birge, is a Jerry W. and Carol Lee Levin Professor of Operations Management at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. François Louveaux is a Professor at the University of Namur(FUNDP) in the Department of Business Administration

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access