English

General Optimal Stopping without Time Consistency

Optimization and Control 2026-02-02 v1

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a new framework for solving a general dynamic optimal stopping problem without time consistency. A sophisticated solution is proposed and is well-defined for any time setting with general flows of objectives. A backward iteration is proposed to find the solution. The iteration works with an additional condition, which holds in interesting cases including the time inconsistency arising from non-exponential discounting. Even if the iteration does not work, the equilibrium solution can still be studied by a forward definition.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2601.23187,
  title  = {General Optimal Stopping without Time Consistency},
  author = {Hanqing Jin and Yanzhao Yang},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.23187},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

23 pages

R2 v1 2026-07-01T09:28:05.505Z