The Markowitz mean-variance portfolio optimization problem is a quadratic programming problem whose first-order conditions require the solution of a linear system. It is well known that the optimal portfolio weights are sensitive to parameter estimates, particularly the mean return vector. This...

In most western countries, there is a strong incentive for defence department budget-holders to expend all of the funds they are authorized to spend in a fiscal year. In this paper, we question whether this emphasis makes sense. We develop a model of a defence department's operating expenditure...

In this paper, we argue that a better information system is unlikely to solve the problem of lapsed funding that characterizes many government departments. This result is shown to depend critically on the nature of government costs.