Nonlinear Labor Market Dynamics discusses adjustment processes in labor markets. Contrary to linear-stochastic approaches this book is based on a non-linear deterministic framework. It is shown that even textbook-like-models of the labor market can generate long lasting adjustment processes, local instabilities, and chaotic movements, once nonlinear relationships and widely accepted adjustment rules are introduced. Thus, labor market dynamics may have an endogenous component that is governed by a nonlinear deterministic core. Of course, all results are tied to the particular models discussed in this book. Nevertheless, these models imply that by incorporating nonlinear relationships, one may arrive at an explanation of labor market behavior where linear stochastic approaches fell. Time series studies for German labor market data support this point of view.

Nonlinear Labor Market Dynamics discusses adjustment processes in labor markets. Contrary to linear-stochastic approaches this book is based on a non-linear deterministic framework. It is shown that even textbook-like-models of the labor market can generate long lasting adjustment processes, local instabilities, and chaotic movements, once nonlinear relationships and widely accepted adjustment rules are introduced. Thus, labor market dynamics may have an endogenous component that is governed by a nonlinear deterministic core. Of course, all results are tied to the particular models discussed in this book. Nevertheless, these models imply that by incorporating nonlinear relationships, one may arrive at an explanation of labor market behavior where linear stochastic approaches fell. Time series studies for German labor market data support this point of view.

This book is devoted to vector or multiple criteria approaches in optimization. Topics covered include: vector optimization, vector variational inequalities, vector variational principles, vector minmax inequalities and vector equilibrium problems. In particular, problems with variable ordering relations and set-valued mappings are treated. The nonlinear scalarization method is extensively used throughout the book to deal with various vector-related problems. The results presented are original and should be interesting to researchers and graduates in applied mathematics and operations research. Readers will benefit from new methods and ideas for handling multiple criteria decision problems.

Production planning problems containing special characteristics from process industries are addressed in this book. The main subject is the development of mathematical programming models that allow to model production plans which are not disrupted by discretization of time. However, discrete time models are used as a basis and are subsequently enhanced to include aspects of time continuity. Their integration is achieved by different building blocks which may be combined freely according to the specific planning situation at hand. The primary area of application of these kinds of models are process industries.

In logistics systems, the issue of planning stability has attracted increased attention and interest in recent years. This is mainly due to an increasing integration of planning systems both within and across companies in supply chain management. The propagation of adjustments in planning systems first acquired wide attention when MRP systems were employed as standard planning tools for material coordination. Within a rolling horizon framework the MRP application produced considerable planning instability which origins from uncertainties in the planner's exogenous environment as well as from endogenous sources. This book presents an analytical investigation that gives deep insight into the influence of different kind of inventory control rules on the stability of material planning systems under stochastic demand in a rolling horizon environment.

The monograph gives a theoretical explanation of observed cooperative behavior in common pool situations. The incentives for cooperative decision making are investigated by means of a cooperative game theoretical framework. In a first step core existence results are worked out. Whereas general core existence results provide us with an answer for mutual cooperation, nothing can be said how strong these incentives and how stable these cooperative agreements are. To clarify these questions the convexity property for common pool TU-games in scrutinized in a second step. It is proved that the convexity property holds for a large subclass of symmetrical as well as asymmetrical cooperative common pool games. Core existence and the convexity results provide us with a theoretical explanation to bridge the gap between the observation in field studies for cooperation and the noncooperative prediction that the common pool resource will be overused and perhaps endangered.

Agent-based Computational Economics (ACE) is a new discipline of economics, largely grounded on concepts like evolution, auto-organisation and emergence: it intensively uses computer simulations as well as artificial intelligence, mostly based on multi-agents systems. The purpose of this book is to give an up-to date view of the scientific production in the fields of Agent-based Computational Economics (mainly in Market Finance and Game Theory). Based on communications given at AE'2005 (Lille, USTL, France), this book offers a wide panorama of recent advances in ACE (both theoretical and methodological) that will interest academics as well as practitioners.

Network problems are manifold and extremely complex. Many problems result from engineering details or mathematical difficulties, others are caused by disregarding economic principles and imperfections of markets. The text provides a fairly integrated approach of transportation related "network problems" and their "solutions" with emphasis on economics or, more precisely, microeconomic theory.

This book has been prepared during my work as a research assistant at the Institute for Statistics and Econometrics of the Economics Department at the University of Bielefeld, Germany. It was accepted as a Ph.D. thesis titled "Term Structure Modeling and Estimation in a State Space Framework" at the Department of Economics of the University of Bielefeld in November 2004. It is a pleasure for me to thank all those people who have been helpful in one way or another during the completion of this work. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor Professor Joachim Frohn, not only for his guidance and advice throughout the com pletion of my thesis but also for letting me have four very enjoyable years teaching and researching at the Institute for Statistics and Econometrics. I am also grateful to my second advisor Professor Willi Semmler. The project I worked on in one of his seminars in 1999 can really be seen as a starting point for my research on state space models. I thank Professor Thomas Braun for joining the committee for my oral examination.

The present study has been accepted as a doctoral thesis by the Depart ment of Economics of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University in Frankfurt am Main. It grew out from my five year long participation in two research projects, "Econometric analysis of transaction intensity and volatility on fi nancial markets", and "Microstructure on financial markets", that were both conducted by the chair of Statistics and Econometrics (Empirical Economic Research) at the Department of Economics and Business Administration, Jo hann Wolfgang Goethe-University in Frankfurt am Main and financed by the state of Hessen. During this time I have benefitted from many people. First and foremost I would like to thank my thesis supervisor, Prof. Dr. Reinhard Hujer, for initiating and supporting my studies with great encouragement. I am also very grateful to Prof. Dr. Christian Schlag for acting as the second thesis supervisor. Furthermore, I wish to thank Prof. Dr. Joachim Grammig who introduced me to the topics covered in this study in the first place and helped me to sharpen my views on econometrics and financial market microstructure theory through many discussions and also through his willingness to work with me on several related studies.