A singular stochastic control problem with direction switching cost

Abstract We introduce a new class of singular stochastic control problems in which the process controller not only chooses the push intensity, at a price proportional to the displacement caused by his action, but he can also change the allowable control direction, paying a fixed cost for each such switching. Singular control of the one-dimensional Brownian motion with quadratic instantaneous cost function and costly direction switching on the infinite time horizon is analyzed in detail, leading to a closed-form solution. This example is used as an illustration of qualitative differences between the class of problems considered here and classic singular stochastic control.