Quantitative Finance
Quantitative Finance

Author: Maria Cristina Mariani

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2019-11-06

Total Pages: 494

ISBN-13: 1118629965

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Presents a multitude of topics relevant to the quantitative finance community by combining the best of the theory with the usefulness of applications Written by accomplished teachers and researchers in the field, this book presents quantitative finance theory through applications to specific practical problems and comes with accompanying coding techniques in R and MATLAB, and some generic pseudo-algorithms to modern finance. It also offers over 300 examples and exercises that are appropriate for the beginning student as well as the practitioner in the field. The Quantitative Finance book is divided into four parts. Part One begins by providing readers with the theoretical backdrop needed from probability and stochastic processes. We also present some useful finance concepts used throughout the book. In part two of the book we present the classical Black-Scholes-Merton model in a uniquely accessible and understandable way. Implied volatility as well as local volatility surfaces are also discussed. Next, solutions to Partial Differential Equations (PDE), wavelets and Fourier transforms are presented. Several methodologies for pricing options namely, tree methods, finite difference method and Monte Carlo simulation methods are also discussed. We conclude this part with a discussion on stochastic differential equations (SDE’s). In the third part of this book, several new and advanced models from current literature such as general Lvy processes, nonlinear PDE's for stochastic volatility models in a transaction fee market, PDE's in a jump-diffusion with stochastic volatility models and factor and copulas models are discussed. In part four of the book, we conclude with a solid presentation of the typical topics in fixed income securities and derivatives. We discuss models for pricing bonds market, marketable securities, credit default swaps (CDS) and securitizations. Classroom-tested over a three-year period with the input of students and experienced practitioners Emphasizes the volatility of financial analyses and interpretations Weaves theory with application throughout the book Utilizes R and MATLAB software programs Presents pseudo-algorithms for readers who do not have access to any particular programming system Supplemented with extensive author-maintained web site that includes helpful teaching hints, data sets, software programs, and additional content Quantitative Finance is an ideal textbook for upper-undergraduate and beginning graduate students in statistics, financial engineering, quantitative finance, and mathematical finance programs. It will also appeal to practitioners in the same fields.

The Multi-Agent Transport Simulation MATSim
The Multi-Agent Transport Simulation MATSim

Author: Andreas Horni

Publisher: Ubiquity Press

Published: 2016-08-10

Total Pages: 620

ISBN-13: 190918876X

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The MATSim (Multi-Agent Transport Simulation) software project was started around 2006 with the goal of generating traffic and congestion patterns by following individual synthetic travelers through their daily or weekly activity programme. It has since then evolved from a collection of stand-alone C++ programs to an integrated Java-based framework which is publicly hosted, open-source available, automatically regression tested. It is currently used by about 40 groups throughout the world. This book takes stock of the current status. The first part of the book gives an introduction to the most important concepts, with the intention of enabling a potential user to set up and run basic simulations. The second part of the book describes how the basic functionality can be extended, for example by adding schedule-based public transit, electric or autonomous cars, paratransit, or within-day replanning. For each extension, the text provides pointers to the additional documentation and to the code base. It is also discussed how people with appropriate Java programming skills can write their own extensions, and plug them into the MATSim core. The project has started from the basic idea that traffic is a consequence of human behavior, and thus humans and their behavior should be the starting point of all modelling, and with the intuition that when simulations with 100 million particles are possible in computational physics, then behavior-oriented simulations with 10 million travelers should be possible in travel behavior research. The initial implementations thus combined concepts from computational physics and complex adaptive systems with concepts from travel behavior research. The third part of the book looks at theoretical concepts that are able to describe important aspects of the simulation system; for example, under certain conditions the code becomes a Monte Carlo engine sampling from a discrete choice model. Another important aspect is the interpretation of the MATSim score as utility in the microeconomic sense, opening up a connection to benefit cost analysis. Finally, the book collects use cases as they have been undertaken with MATSim. All current users of MATSim were invited to submit their work, and many followed with sometimes crisp and short and sometimes longer contributions, always with pointers to additional references. We hope that the book will become an invitation to explore, to build and to extend agent-based modeling of travel behavior from the stable and well tested core of MATSim documented here.

Decision Making Under Uncertainty
Decision Making Under Uncertainty

Author: Mykel J. Kochenderfer

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2015-07-24

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 0262331713

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An introduction to decision making under uncertainty from a computational perspective, covering both theory and applications ranging from speech recognition to airborne collision avoidance. Many important problems involve decision making under uncertainty—that is, choosing actions based on often imperfect observations, with unknown outcomes. Designers of automated decision support systems must take into account the various sources of uncertainty while balancing the multiple objectives of the system. This book provides an introduction to the challenges of decision making under uncertainty from a computational perspective. It presents both the theory behind decision making models and algorithms and a collection of example applications that range from speech recognition to aircraft collision avoidance. Focusing on two methods for designing decision agents, planning and reinforcement learning, the book covers probabilistic models, introducing Bayesian networks as a graphical model that captures probabilistic relationships between variables; utility theory as a framework for understanding optimal decision making under uncertainty; Markov decision processes as a method for modeling sequential problems; model uncertainty; state uncertainty; and cooperative decision making involving multiple interacting agents. A series of applications shows how the theoretical concepts can be applied to systems for attribute-based person search, speech applications, collision avoidance, and unmanned aircraft persistent surveillance. Decision Making Under Uncertainty unifies research from different communities using consistent notation, and is accessible to students and researchers across engineering disciplines who have some prior exposure to probability theory and calculus. It can be used as a text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in fields including computer science, aerospace and electrical engineering, and management science. It will also be a valuable professional reference for researchers in a variety of disciplines.

Algorithms for Reinforcement Learning
Algorithms for Reinforcement Learning

Author: Csaba Grossi

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-05-31

Total Pages: 89

ISBN-13: 3031015517

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Reinforcement learning is a learning paradigm concerned with learning to control a system so as to maximize a numerical performance measure that expresses a long-term objective. What distinguishes reinforcement learning from supervised learning is that only partial feedback is given to the learner about the learner's predictions. Further, the predictions may have long term effects through influencing the future state of the controlled system. Thus, time plays a special role. The goal in reinforcement learning is to develop efficient learning algorithms, as well as to understand the algorithms' merits and limitations. Reinforcement learning is of great interest because of the large number of practical applications that it can be used to address, ranging from problems in artificial intelligence to operations research or control engineering. In this book, we focus on those algorithms of reinforcement learning that build on the powerful theory of dynamic programming. We give a fairly comprehensive catalog of learning problems, describe the core ideas, note a large number of state of the art algorithms, followed by the discussion of their theoretical properties and limitations. Table of Contents: Markov Decision Processes / Value Prediction Problems / Control / For Further Exploration

Modern Computational Finance
Modern Computational Finance

Author: Antoine Savine

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2018-11-20

Total Pages: 592

ISBN-13: 1119539455

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Arguably the strongest addition to numerical finance of the past decade, Algorithmic Adjoint Differentiation (AAD) is the technology implemented in modern financial software to produce thousands of accurate risk sensitivities, within seconds, on light hardware. AAD recently became a centerpiece of modern financial systems and a key skill for all quantitative analysts, developers, risk professionals or anyone involved with derivatives. It is increasingly taught in Masters and PhD programs in finance. Danske Bank's wide scale implementation of AAD in its production and regulatory systems won the In-House System of the Year 2015 Risk award. The Modern Computational Finance books, written by three of the very people who designed Danske Bank's systems, offer a unique insight into the modern implementation of financial models. The volumes combine financial modelling, mathematics and programming to resolve real life financial problems and produce effective derivatives software. This volume is a complete, self-contained learning reference for AAD, and its application in finance. AAD is explained in deep detail throughout chapters that gently lead readers from the theoretical foundations to the most delicate areas of an efficient implementation, such as memory management, parallel implementation and acceleration with expression templates. The book comes with professional source code in C++, including an efficient, up to date implementation of AAD and a generic parallel simulation library. Modern C++, high performance parallel programming and interfacing C++ with Excel are also covered. The book builds the code step-by-step, while the code illustrates the concepts and notions developed in the book.

Handbook of Modeling High-Frequency Data in Finance
Handbook of Modeling High-Frequency Data in Finance

Author: Frederi G. Viens

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-12-20

Total Pages: 468

ISBN-13: 0470876883

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CUTTING-EDGE DEVELOPMENTS IN HIGH-FREQUENCY FINANCIAL ECONOMETRICS In recent years, the availability of high-frequency data and advances in computing have allowed financial practitioners to design systems that can handle and analyze this information. Handbook of Modeling High-Frequency Data in Finance addresses the many theoretical and practical questions raised by the nature and intrinsic properties of this data. A one-stop compilation of empirical and analytical research, this handbook explores data sampled with high-frequency finance in financial engineering, statistics, and the modern financial business arena. Every chapter uses real-world examples to present new, original, and relevant topics that relate to newly evolving discoveries in high-frequency finance, such as: Designing new methodology to discover elasticity and plasticity of price evolution Constructing microstructure simulation models Calculation of option prices in the presence of jumps and transaction costs Using boosting for financial analysis and trading The handbook motivates practitioners to apply high-frequency finance to real-world situations by including exclusive topics such as risk measurement and management, UHF data, microstructure, dynamic multi-period optimization, mortgage data models, hybrid Monte Carlo, retirement, trading systems and forecasting, pricing, and boosting. The diverse topics and viewpoints presented in each chapter ensure that readers are supplied with a wide treatment of practical methods. Handbook of Modeling High-Frequency Data in Finance is an essential reference for academics and practitioners in finance, business, and econometrics who work with high-frequency data in their everyday work. It also serves as a supplement for risk management and high-frequency finance courses at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels.

Mathematics of Evolution and Phylogeny
Mathematics of Evolution and Phylogeny

Author: Olivier Gascuel

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2005-02-24

Total Pages: 444

ISBN-13: 9780191513732

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This book considers evolution at different scales: sequences, genes, gene families, organelles, genomes and species. The focus is on the mathematical and computational tools and concepts, which form an essential basis of evolutionary studies, indicate their limitations, and give them orientation. Recent years have witnessed rapid progress in the mathematics of evolution and phylogeny, with models and methods becoming more realistic, powerful, and complex. Aimed at graduates and researchers in phylogenetics, mathematicians, computer scientists and biologists, and including chapters by leading scientists: A. Bergeron, D. Bertrand, D. Bryant, R. Desper, O. Elemento, N. El-Mabrouk, N. Galtier, O. Gascuel, M. Hendy, S. Holmes, K. Huber, A. Meade, J. Mixtacki, B. Moret, E. Mossel, V. Moulton, M. Pagel, M.-A. Poursat, D. Sankoff, M. Steel, J. Stoye, J. Tang, L.-S. Wang, T. Warnow, Z. Yang, this book of contributed chapters explains the basis and covers the recent results in this highly topical area.

Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization, and Machine Learning
Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization, and Machine Learning

Author: David Edward Goldberg

Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 436

ISBN-13:

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A gentle introduction to genetic algorithms. Genetic algorithms revisited: mathematical foundations. Computer implementation of a genetic algorithm. Some applications of genetic algorithms. Advanced operators and techniques in genetic search. Introduction to genetics-based machine learning. Applications of genetics-based machine learning. A look back, a glance ahead. A review of combinatorics and elementary probability. Pascal with random number generation for fortran, basic, and cobol programmers. A simple genetic algorithm (SGA) in pascal. A simple classifier system(SCS) in pascal. Partition coefficient transforms for problem-coding analysis.

The Theory of Ecological Communities (MPB-57)
The Theory of Ecological Communities (MPB-57)

Author: Mark Vellend

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2020-09-15

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 0691208999

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A plethora of different theories, models, and concepts make up the field of community ecology. Amid this vast body of work, is it possible to build one general theory of ecological communities? What other scientific areas might serve as a guiding framework? As it turns out, the core focus of community ecology—understanding patterns of diversity and composition of biological variants across space and time—is shared by evolutionary biology and its very coherent conceptual framework, population genetics theory. The Theory of Ecological Communities takes this as a starting point to pull together community ecology's various perspectives into a more unified whole. Mark Vellend builds a theory of ecological communities based on four overarching processes: selection among species, drift, dispersal, and speciation. These are analogues of the four central processes in population genetics theory—selection within species, drift, gene flow, and mutation—and together they subsume almost all of the many dozens of more specific models built to describe the dynamics of communities of interacting species. The result is a theory that allows the effects of many low-level processes, such as competition, facilitation, predation, disturbance, stress, succession, colonization, and local extinction to be understood as the underpinnings of high-level processes with widely applicable consequences for ecological communities. Reframing the numerous existing ideas in community ecology, The Theory of Ecological Communities provides a new way for thinking about biological composition and diversity.

Girls' Education in the Twenty-first Century
Girls' Education in the Twenty-first Century

Author: Mercy Tembon

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2008-01-01

Total Pages: 346

ISBN-13: 0821374753

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Persuasive evidence demonstrates that gender equality in education is central to economic development. Despite more than two decades of accumulated knowledge and evidence of what works in improving gender equality, progress on the ground remains slow and uneven across countries. What is missing? Given that education is a critical path to accelerate progress toward gender equality and the empowerment of women, what is holding us back? These questions were discussed at the global symposium Education: A Critical Path to Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, which was sponsored by the World Bank in October 2007. Girls' Education in the 21st Century is based on background papers developed for the symposium. The book's chapters reflect the current state of knowledge on education from a gender perspective and highlight the importance of, and challenges to, female education, as well as the interdependence of education and development objectives. The last chapter presents five strategic directions for advancing gender equality in education and their implications for World Bank operations. Girls' Education in the 21st Century will be of particular interest to researchers, educators, school administrators, and policy makers at the global, national, regional, and municipal levels.