eprintid: 4188 rev_number: 23 eprint_status: archive userid: 351 dir: disk0/00/00/41/88 datestamp: 2016-01-15 02:04:42 lastmod: 2021-08-27 17:14:56 status_changed: 2016-01-15 02:04:42 type: monograph metadata_visibility: show item_issues_count: 3 creators_name: Norkin, V.I. creators_name: Ermoliev, Y.M. creators_name: Ruszczynski, A. creators_id: AL1055 creators_id: 1445 creators_id: 1475 title: On Optimal Allocation of Indivisibles Under Uncertainty ispublished: pub internal_subjects: iis_ecn internal_subjects: iis_met divisions: prog_opt abstract: The optimal use of indivisible resources is often the central issue in the economy and management. One of the main difficulties is the discontinuous nature of the resulting resource allocation problems which may lead to the failure of competitive market allocation mechanisms (unless we agree to "divide" the indivisibles in some indirect way). The problem becomes even more acute when uncertainty of the outcomes of decisions is present. In this paper we formalize the problem as a stochastic optimization problem involving discrete decision variables and uncertainties. By using some concrete examples, we illustrate how some problems of "dividing indivisibles" under uncertainty can be formalized in such terms. Next, we develop a general methodology to solve such problems based on the concept of the branch and bound method. The main idea of the approach is to process large collections of possible solutions and to devote more attention to the most promising groups. By gathering more information to reduce the uncertainty and by specializing the solution the optimal decision can be found. date: 1994-04 date_type: published publisher: WP-94-021 iiasapubid: WP-94-021 price: 10 creators_browse_id: 2245 creators_browse_id: 338 creators_browse_id: 1544 full_text_status: public monograph_type: working_paper place_of_pub: IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria pages: 28 coversheets_dirty: FALSE fp7_type: info:eu-repo/semantics/book citation: Norkin, V.I. , Ermoliev, Y.M. , & Ruszczynski, A. (1994). On Optimal Allocation of Indivisibles Under Uncertainty. IIASA Working Paper. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: WP-94-021 document_url: https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/4188/1/WP-94-021.pdf