Fair Vehicle Routing via Bilevel Optimization

We propose a novel approach to modeling fairness in the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) by introducing objective functions based on ordering route lengths, capturing both monotonic and non-monotonic equity measures. Our method ensures allocations that are efficient, capacity-feasible, and equitable according to criteria like min-max, range, Gini, variance, or absolute deviations. To prevent biased or … Read more

Branch-and-Cut for Mixed-Integer Linear Decision-Dependent Robust Optimization

Decision-dependent robust optimization (DDRO) problems are usually tackled by reformulating them using a strong-duality theorem for the uncertainty set model. If the uncertainty set is, however, described by a mixed-integer linear model, dualization techniques cannot be applied and the literature on solution methods is very scarce. In this paper, we exploit the equivalence of DDRO … Read more

Solving bilevel optimization via sequential minimax optimization

In this paper we propose a sequential minimax optimization (SMO) method for solving a class of constrained bilevel optimization problems in which the lower-level part is a possibly nonsmooth convex optimization problem, while the upper-level part is a possibly nonconvex optimization problem. Specifically, SMO applies a first-order method to solve a sequence of minimax subproblems, … Read more

Improving Directions in Mixed Integer Bilevel Linear Optimization

We consider the central role of improving directions in solution methods for mixed integer bilevel linear optimization problems (MIBLPs). Current state-of-the-art methods for solving MIBLPs employ the branch-and-cut framework originally developed for solving mixed integer linear optimization problems. This approach relies on oracles for two kinds of subproblems: those for checking whether a candidate pair … Read more

Solving the Partial Inverse Knapsack Problem

In this paper, we investigate the partial inverse knapsack problem, a bilevel optimization problem in which the follower solves a classical 0/1-knapsack problem with item profit values comprised of a fixed part and a modification determined by the leader. Specifically, the leader problem seeks a minimal change to given item profits such that there is … Read more

A Variational Analysis Approach for Bilevel Hyperparameter Optimization with Sparse Regularization

We study a bilevel optimization framework for hyperparameter learning in variational models, with a focus on sparse regression and classification tasks. In particular, we consider a weighted elastic-net regularizer, where feature-wise regularization parameters are learned through a bilevel formulation. A key novelty of our approach is the use of a Forward-Backward (FB) reformulation of the … Read more

Branch-and-Cut for Mixed-Integer Nash Equilibrium Problems

We consider Nash equilibrium problems with mixed-integer variables in which each player solves a mixed-integer optimization problem parameterized in the rivals’ strategies. We distinguish between standard Nash equilibrium problems (NEP), where the parameterization acts only on the players’ cost functions and generalized Nash equilibrium problems (GNEPs), where, additionally, the strategy spaces of the players may … Read more

A stochastic gradient method for trilevel optimization

With the success that the field of bilevel optimization has seen in recent years, similar methodologies have started being applied to solving more difficult applications that arise in trilevel optimization. At the helm of these applications are new machine learning formulations that have been proposed in the trilevel context and, as a result, efficient and … Read more

Mathematical programs with complementarity constraints and application to hyperparameter tuning for nonlinear support vector machines

We consider the Mathematical Program with Complementarity Constraints (MPCC). One of the main challenges in solving this problem is the systematic failure of standard Constraint Qualifications (CQs). Carefully accounting for the combinatorial nature of the complementarity constraints, tractable versions of the Mangasarian Fromovitz Constraint Qualification (MFCQ) have been designed and widely studied in the literature. … Read more

On Coupling Constraints in Pessimistic Linear Bilevel Optimization

The literature on pessimistic bilevel optimization with coupling constraints is rather scarce and it has been common sense that these problems are harder to tackle than pessimistic bilevel problems without coupling constraints. In this note, we show that this is not the case. To this end, given a pessimistic problem with coupling constraints, we derive … Read more