Readers of this book will learn how to solve a wide range of optimal investment problems arising in finance and economics.
Starting from the fundamental Merton problem, many variants are presented and solved, often using numerical techniques
that the book also covers. The final chapter assesses the relevance of many of the models in common use when applied to data.

The Paris-Princeton Lectures in Financial Mathematics, of which this is the first volume, will, on an annual basis, publish cutting-edge research in self-contained, expository articles from outstanding - established or upcoming! - specialists. The aim is to produce a series of articles that can serve as an introductory reference for research in the field. It arises as a result of frequent exchanges between the finance and financial mathematics groups in Paris and Princeton. The present volume sets standards with articles by P. Bank/H. Föllmer, F. Baudoin, L.C.G. Rogers, and M. Soner/N. Touzi.

Numerical Methods in Finance has emerged as a discipline at the intersection of probability theory, finance and numerical analysis. This book, based on lectures given at the Newton Institute as part of a broader programme, describes a wide variety of numerical methods used in financial analysis: computation of option prices, especially of American option prices, by finite difference and other methods; numerical solution of portfolio management strategies; statistical procedures; identification of models; Monte Carlo methods; and numerical implications of stochastic volatilities. Articles have been written in a pedagogic style and made reasonably self-contained, covering both mathematical matters and practical issues in numerical problems. Thus the book has something to offer economists, probabilists and applied mathematicians working in finance.

The second volume concentrates on stochastic integrals, stochastic differential equations, excursion theory and the general theory of processes. These subjects are made accessible in the many concrete examples that illustrate techniques of calculation, and in the treatment of all topics from the ground up, starting from simple cases. Many of the examples and proofs are new; some important calculational techniques appear for the first time in this book.

Now available in paperback, this celebrated book remains a key systematic guide to a large part of the modern theory of Probability. The authors not only present the subject of Brownian motion as a dry part of mathematical analysis, but convey its real meaning and fascination. The opening, heuristic chapter does just this, and it is followed by a comprehensive and self-contained account of the foundations of theory of stochastic processes. Chapter 3 is a lively presentation of the theory of Markov processes. Together with its companion volume, this book equips graduate students for research into a subject of great intrinsic interest and wide applications.

Numerical methods in finance has recently emerged as a new discipline at the intersection of probability theory, finance and numerical analysis. This book describes a wide variety of numerical methods used in financial analysis: computation of option prices, especially American option prices, by finite difference and other methods; numerical solution of portfolio management strategies; statistical procedures, identification of models; Monte Carlo methods; and numerical implications of stochastic volatilities. Lucid and concise, it covers both mathematical matters and practical issues in numerical problems. This book is an ideal resource for economists, probabilists and applied mathematicians working in finance.