Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 July 2016
We study the present value Z ∞ = ∫0 ∞ e-X t- dY t where (X,Y) is an integrable Lévy process. This random variable appears in various applications, and several examples are known where the distribution of Z ∞ is calculated explicitly. Here sufficient conditions for Z ∞ to exist are given, and the possibility of finding the distribution of Z ∞ by Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation is investigated in detail. Then the same ideas are applied to the present value Z - ∞ = ∫0 ∞ exp{-∫0 t R s ds}dY t where Y is an integrable Lévy process and R is an ergodic strong Markov process. Numerical examples are given in both cases to show the efficiency of the Monte Carlo methods.