F. Giannessi & Panos M. Pardalos 
Optimization Theory 
Recent Developments from Matrahaza

This volume contains refereed papers based on the lectures presented at the XIV International Conference on Mathematical Programming held at Matrahaza, Hungary, between 27-31 March 1999. This conference was organized by the Laboratory of Operations Research and Deci- sion Systems at the Computer and Automation Institute, Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The editors hope this volume will contribute to the theory and applications of mathematical programming. As a tradition of these events, the main purpose of the confer- ence was to review and discuss recent advances and promising research trends concerning theory, algorithms and applications in different fields of Optimization Theory and related areas such as Convex Analysis, Complementarity Systems and Variational Inequalities. The conference is traditionally held in the Matra Mountains, and housed by the resort house of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. This was the 14th event of the long lasting series of conferences started in 1973. The organizers wish to express their thanks to the authors for their contributions in this volume, and the anonymous referees for their valu- able comments. Special thanks are directed to our sponsors, the Hun- garian Academy of Sciences, the National Committee for Technological Development, the Hungarian National Science Foundation, and last but not least, the Hungarian Operational Research Society. We would like to thank John Martindale from Kluwer Academic Publishers for helping us produce this volume, Eva Nora Nagy for cor- rections and proof-readings, and Peter Dombi for his excellent work on typesetting and editing the manuscript.