{"title":"Distributionally robust optimization for minimizing price fluctuations in quota system","authors":"Chi Xie , Zheng Cui , Daniel Zhuoyu Long , Jin Qi","doi":"10.1016/j.tre.2024.103812","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Quota systems play a crucial role in regulating public-interest goods and controlling negative externalities, with a primary focus on social impacts rather than economic benefits. This paper examines the decision-making process for quota release, aiming to control growth rates and ensure price stability over time. We first develop a chance-constrained problem for quota systems, solving it using sample average approximation. Due to computational demands, alternative approximation methods are explored. We consider two types of quota systems: mature systems with known distributions and newly established systems with distributional ambiguity. For mature systems, Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR) is used to approximate the chance constraint, while for newly established systems, worst-case CVaR is employed within a robust optimization framework and the binary search algorithm is derived to efficiently solve the problem. The proposed models’ effectiveness is validated through computational studies using data from Singapore’s Vehicle Quota System. With known distributions, our CVaR sample average approximation (CVaR-SAA) model outperforms traditional models, reducing violation probability by more than 56.32%. With distributional ambiguity, worst-case CVaR approximation robust optimization (WCVaR-RO) model provides superior solutions, particularly in maximum violation probability (MVP). In the most notable case, WCVaR-RO reduces the MVP by over 53.37%. This research offers valuable insights into the management of quota systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49418,"journal":{"name":"Transportation Research Part E-Logistics and Transportation Review","volume":"193 ","pages":"Article 103812"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Transportation Research Part E-Logistics and Transportation Review","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1366554524004034","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ECONOMICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Quota systems play a crucial role in regulating public-interest goods and controlling negative externalities, with a primary focus on social impacts rather than economic benefits. This paper examines the decision-making process for quota release, aiming to control growth rates and ensure price stability over time. We first develop a chance-constrained problem for quota systems, solving it using sample average approximation. Due to computational demands, alternative approximation methods are explored. We consider two types of quota systems: mature systems with known distributions and newly established systems with distributional ambiguity. For mature systems, Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR) is used to approximate the chance constraint, while for newly established systems, worst-case CVaR is employed within a robust optimization framework and the binary search algorithm is derived to efficiently solve the problem. The proposed models’ effectiveness is validated through computational studies using data from Singapore’s Vehicle Quota System. With known distributions, our CVaR sample average approximation (CVaR-SAA) model outperforms traditional models, reducing violation probability by more than 56.32%. With distributional ambiguity, worst-case CVaR approximation robust optimization (WCVaR-RO) model provides superior solutions, particularly in maximum violation probability (MVP). In the most notable case, WCVaR-RO reduces the MVP by over 53.37%. This research offers valuable insights into the management of quota systems.
期刊介绍:
Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review is a reputable journal that publishes high-quality articles covering a wide range of topics in the field of logistics and transportation research. The journal welcomes submissions on various subjects, including transport economics, transport infrastructure and investment appraisal, evaluation of public policies related to transportation, empirical and analytical studies of logistics management practices and performance, logistics and operations models, and logistics and supply chain management.
Part E aims to provide informative and well-researched articles that contribute to the understanding and advancement of the field. The content of the journal is complementary to other prestigious journals in transportation research, such as Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Part B: Methodological, Part C: Emerging Technologies, Part D: Transport and Environment, and Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. Together, these journals form a comprehensive and cohesive reference for current research in transportation science.