The focus of this book is on bilevel programming which combines elements of hierarchical optimization and game theory. The basic model addresses the problem where two decision-makers, each with their individual objectives, act and react in a noncooperative manner. The actions of one affect the choices and payoffs available to the other but neither player can completely dominate the other in the traditional sense. Over the last 20 years there has been a steady growth in research related to theory and solution methodologies for bilevel programming. This interest stems from the inherent complexity and consequent challenge of the underlying mathematics, as well as the applicability of the bilevel model to many real-world situations. The primary aim of this book is to provide a historical perspective on algorithmic development and to highlight those implementations that have proved to be the most efficient in their class. A corollary aim is to provide a sampling of applications in order to demonstrate the versatility of the basic model and the limitations of current technology. What is unique about this book is its comprehensive and integrated treatment of theory, algorithms and implementation issues. It is the first text that offers researchers and practitioners an elementary understanding of how to solve bilevel programs and a perspective on what success has been achieved in the field. Audience: Includes management scientists, operations researchers, industrial engineers, mathematicians and economists.

The analysis and design of engineering and industrial systems has come to rely heavily on the use of optimization techniques. The theory developed over the last 40 years, coupled with an increasing number of powerful computational procedures, has made it possible to routinely solve problems arising in such diverse fields as aircraft design, material flow, curve fitting, capital expansion, and oil refining just to name a few. Mathematical programming plays a central role in each of these areas and can be considered the primary tool for systems optimization. Limits have been placed on the types of problems that can be solved, though, by the difficulty of handling functions that are not everywhere differentiable. To deal with real applications, it is often necessary to be able to optimize functions that while continuous are not differentiable in the classical sense. As the title of the book indicates, our chief concern is with (i) nondifferentiable mathematical programs, and (ii) two-level optimization problems. In the first half of the book, we study basic theory for general smooth and nonsmooth functions of many variables. After providing some background, we extend traditional (differentiable) nonlinear programming to the nondifferentiable case. The term used for the resultant problem is nondifferentiable mathematical programming. The major focus is on the derivation of optimality conditions for general nondifferentiable nonlinear programs. We introduce the concept of the generalized gradient and derive Kuhn-Tucker-type optimality conditions for the corresponding formulations.

The analysis and design of engineering and industrial systems has come to rely heavily on the use of optimization techniques. The theory developed over the last 40 years, coupled with an increasing number of powerful computational procedures, has made it possible to routinely solve problems arising in such diverse fields as aircraft design, material flow, curve fitting, capital expansion, and oil refining just to name a few. Mathematical programming plays a central role in each of these areas and can be considered the primary tool for systems optimization. Limits have been placed on the types of problems that can be solved, though, by the difficulty of handling functions that are not everywhere differentiable. To deal with real applications, it is often necessary to be able to optimize functions that while continuous are not differentiable in the classical sense. As the title of the book indicates, our chief concern is with (i) nondifferentiable mathematical programs, and (ii) two-level optimization problems. In the first half of the book, we study basic theory for general smooth and nonsmooth functions of many variables. After providing some background, we extend traditional (differentiable) nonlinear programming to the nondifferentiable case. The term used for the resultant problem is nondifferentiable mathematical programming. The major focus is on the derivation of optimality conditions for general nondifferentiable nonlinear programs. We introduce the concept of the generalized gradient and derive Kuhn-Tucker-type optimality conditions for the corresponding formulations.

The use of optimization techniques has become integral to the design and analysis of most industrial and socio-economic systems. Great strides have been made recently in the solution of large-scale problems arising in such areas as production planning, airline scheduling, government regulation, and engineering design, to name a few. Analysts have found, however, that standard mathematical programming models are often inadequate in these situations because more than a single objective function and a single decision maker are involved. Multiple objective programming deals with the extension of optimization techniques to account for several objective functions, while game theory deals with the inter-personal dynamics surrounding conflict. Bilevel programming, the focus of this book, is in a narrow sense the combination of the two. It addresses the problern in which two decision makers, each with their individual objectives, act and react in a noncooperative, sequential manner. The actions of one affect the choices and payoffs available to the other but neither player can completely dominate the other in the traditional sense.