Economics Insights @ CBS

According to human capital theory, technological change will influence the retirement decisions of older workers in two ways. First, workers in industries with high rates of technological change will retire later if there is a net positive correlation between technological change and on-the-job training. Second, an unexpected change in the rate of technological change will induce older workers to retire sooner because the required amount of retraining will be an unattractive investment.

We develop a simple O(n log n) solution method for the standard lot-sizing model with backlogging and a study horizon of n periods. Production costs are fixed plus linear and holding and backlogging costs are linear with general time-dependent parameters. The algorithm has linear [O(n)] time complexity for several important subclasses of the general model. We show how a slight adaptation of the algorithm can be used for the detection of a minimal forecast horizon and associated planning horizon.

We consider distribution systems with a single depot and many retailers each of which faces external demands for a single item that occurs at a specific deterministic demand rate. All stock enters the systems through the depot where it can be stored and then picked up and distributed to the retailers by a fleet of vehicles, combining deliveries into efficient routes. We extend earlier methods for obtaining low complexity lower bounds and heuristics for systems without central stock.