The main purpose of this handbook is to summarize and to put in order the ideas, methods, results and literature on the theory of random evolutions and their applications to the evolutionary stochastic systems in random media, and also to present some new trends in the theory of random evolutions and their applications. In physical language, a random evolution ( RE ) is a model for a dynamical sys tem whose state of evolution is subject to random variations. Such systems arise in all branches of science. For example, random Hamiltonian and Schrodinger equations with random potential in quantum mechanics, Maxwell's equation with a random refractive index in electrodynamics, transport equations associated with the trajec tory of a particle whose speed and direction change at random, etc. There are the examples of a single abstract situation in which an evolving system changes its "mode of evolution" or "law of motion" because of random changes of the "environment" or in a "medium". So, in mathematical language, a RE is a solution of stochastic operator integral equations in a Banach space. The operator coefficients of such equations depend on random parameters. Of course, in such generality , our equation includes any homogeneous linear evolving system. Particular examples of such equations were studied in physical applications many years ago. A general mathematical theory of such equations has been developed since 1969, the Theory of Random Evolutions.

Inhomogeneous Random Evolutions and Their Applications explains how to model various dynamical systems in finance and insurance with non-homogeneous in time characteristics. It includes modeling for: financial underlying and derivatives via Levy processes with time-dependent characteristics; limit order books in the algorithmic and HFT with counting price changes processes having time-dependent intensities; risk processes which count number of claims with time-dependent conditional intensities; multi-asset price impact from distressed selling; regime-switching Levy-driven diffusion-based price dynamics. Initial models for those systems are very complicated, which is why the author’s approach helps to simplified their study. The book uses a very general approach for modeling of those systems via abstract inhomogeneous random evolutions in Banach spaces. To simplify their investigation, it applies the first averaging principle (long-run stability property or law of large numbers [LLN]) to get deterministic function on the long run. To eliminate the rate of convergence in the LLN, it uses secondly the functional central limit theorem (FCLT) such that the associated cumulative process, centered around that deterministic function and suitably scaled in time, may be approximated by an orthogonal martingale measure, in general; and by standard Brownian motion, in particular, if the scale parameter increases. Thus, this approach allows the author to easily link, for example, microscopic activities with macroscopic ones in HFT, connecting the parameters driving the HFT with the daily volatilities. This method also helps to easily calculate ruin and ultimate ruin probabilities for the risk process. All results in the book are new and original, and can be easily implemented in practice.

The book is devoted to the new trends in random evolutions and their various applications to stochastic evolutionary sytems (SES). Such new developments as the analogue of Dynkin's formulae, boundary value problems, stochastic stability and optimal control of random evolutions, stochastic evolutionary equations driven by martingale measures are considered. The book also contains such new trends in applied probability as stochastic models of financial and insurance mathematics in an incomplete market. In the famous classical financial mathematics Black-Scholes model of a (B,S) market for securities prices, which is used for the description of the evolution of bonds and stocks prices and also for their derivatives, such as options, futures, forward contracts, etc., it is supposed that the dynamic of bonds and stocks prices are set by a linear differential and linear stochastic differential equations, respectively, with interest rate, appreciation rate and volatility such that they are predictable processes. Also, in the Arrow-Debreu economy, the securities prices which support a Radner dynamic equilibrium are a combination of an Ito process and a random point process, with the all coefficients and jumps being predictable processes.

This book extends the theory and applications of random evolutions to semi-Markov random media in discrete time, essentially focusing on semi-Markov chains as switching or driving processes. After giving the definitions of discrete-time semi-Markov chains and random evolutions, it presents the asymptotic theory in a functional setting, including weak convergence results in the series scheme, and their extensions in some additional directions, including reduced random media, controlled processes, and optimal stopping. Finally, applications of discrete-time semi-Markov random evolutions in epidemiology and financial mathematics are discussed. This book will be of interest to researchers and graduate students in applied mathematics and statistics, and other disciplines, including engineering, epidemiology, finance and economics, who are concerned with stochastic models of systems.

"The book deals with inhomogeneous REs and their applications, which are more general and more applicable because they describe in a much better way the evolutions of many processes in real world, which have no homogeneous evolution/behaviour, including economics, finance and insurance"--Provided by publisher.

The evolution of systems in random media is a broad and fruitful field for the applica tions of different mathematical methods and theories. This evolution can be character ized by a semigroup property. In the abstract form, this property is given by a semigroup of operators in a normed vector (Banach) space. In the practically boundless variety of mathematical models of the evolutionary systems, we have chosen the semi-Markov ran dom evolutions as an object of our consideration. The definition of the evolutions of this type is based on rather simple initial assumptions. The random medium is described by the Markov renewal processes or by the semi Markov processes. The local characteristics of the system depend on the state of the ran dom medium. At the same time, the evolution of the system does not affect the medium. Hence, the semi-Markov random evolutions are described by two processes, namely, by the switching Markov renewal process, which describes the changes of the state of the external random medium, and by the switched process, i.e., by the semigroup of oper ators describing the evolution of the system in the semi-Markov random medium.

This text introduces students progressively to various aspects of qualitative models and assumes a knowledge of basic principles of statistics and econometrics. After the introduction, Chapters 2 through 6 present models with endogenous qualitative variables, examining dichotomous models, model specification, estimation methods, descriptive usage, and qualitative panel data. The final two chapters describe models that explain variables assumed by discrete or continuous positive variables.