Optimal Control Theory with Applications in Economics

Optimal Control Theory with Applications in Economics
Author: Thomas A. Weber
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 387
Release: 2011-09-30
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0262015730

A rigorous introduction to optimal control theory, with an emphasis on applications in economics. This book bridges optimal control theory and economics, discussing ordinary differential equations, optimal control, game theory, and mechanism design in one volume. Technically rigorous and largely self-contained, it provides an introduction to the use of optimal control theory for deterministic continuous-time systems in economics. The theory of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) is the backbone of the theory developed in the book, and chapter 2 offers a detailed review of basic concepts in the theory of ODEs, including the solution of systems of linear ODEs, state-space analysis, potential functions, and stability analysis. Following this, the book covers the main results of optimal control theory, in particular necessary and sufficient optimality conditions; game theory, with an emphasis on differential games; and the application of control-theoretic concepts to the design of economic mechanisms. Appendixes provide a mathematical review and full solutions to all end-of-chapter problems. The material is presented at three levels: single-person decision making; games, in which a group of decision makers interact strategically; and mechanism design, which is concerned with a designer's creation of an environment in which players interact to maximize the designer's objective. The book focuses on applications; the problems are an integral part of the text. It is intended for use as a textbook or reference for graduate students, teachers, and researchers interested in applications of control theory beyond its classical use in economic growth. The book will also appeal to readers interested in a modeling approach to certain practical problems involving dynamic continuous-time models.

Optimal Control Theory with Economic Applications

Optimal Control Theory with Economic Applications
Author: A. Seierstad
Publisher: North Holland
Total Pages: 472
Release: 1987-02
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

This book serves not only as an introduction, but also as an advanced text and reference source in the field of deterministic optimal control systems governed by ordinary differential equations. It also includes an introduction to the classical calculus of variations. An important feature of the book is the inclusion of a large number of examples, in which the theory is applied to a wide variety of economics problems. The presentation of simple models helps illuminate pertinent qualitative and analytic points, useful when confronted with a more complex reality. These models cover: economic growth in both open and closed economies, exploitation of (non-) renewable resources, pollution control, behaviour of firms, and differential games. A great emphasis on precision pervades the book, setting it apart from the bulk of literature in this area. The rigorous techniques presented should help the reader avoid errors which often recur in the application of control theory within economics.

Evaluation of Econometric Models

Evaluation of Econometric Models
Author: Jan Kmenta
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 425
Release: 2014-05-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1483267342

Evaluation of Econometric Models presents approaches to assessing and enhancing the progress of applied economic research. This book discusses the problems and issues in evaluating econometric models, use of exploratory methods in economic analysis, and model construction and evaluation when theoretical knowledge is scarce. The data analysis by partial least squares, prediction analysis of economic models, and aggregation and disaggregation of nonlinear equations are also elaborated. This text likewise covers the comparison of econometric models by optimal control techniques, role of time series analysis in econometric model evaluation, and hypothesis testing in spectral regression. Other topics include the relevance of laboratory experiments to testing resource allocation theory and token economy and animal models for the experimental analysis of economic behavior. This publication is intended for students and researchers interested in evaluating econometric models.

Optimal Control Theory and Static Optimization in Economics

Optimal Control Theory and Static Optimization in Economics
Author: Daniel Léonard
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 372
Release: 1992-01-31
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780521337465

Optimal control theory is a technique being used increasingly by academic economists to study problems involving optimal decisions in a multi-period framework. This textbook is designed to make the difficult subject of optimal control theory easily accessible to economists while at the same time maintaining rigour. Economic intuitions are emphasized, and examples and problem sets covering a wide range of applications in economics are provided to assist in the learning process. Theorems are clearly stated and their proofs are carefully explained. The development of the text is gradual and fully integrated, beginning with simple formulations and progressing to advanced topics such as control parameters, jumps in state variables, and bounded state space. For greater economy and elegance, optimal control theory is introduced directly, without recourse to the calculus of variations. The connection with the latter and with dynamic programming is explained in a separate chapter. A second purpose of the book is to draw the parallel between optimal control theory and static optimization. Chapter 1 provides an extensive treatment of constrained and unconstrained maximization, with emphasis on economic insight and applications. Starting from basic concepts, it derives and explains important results, including the envelope theorem and the method of comparative statics. This chapter may be used for a course in static optimization. The book is largely self-contained. No previous knowledge of differential equations is required.

Infinite Horizon Optimal Control

Infinite Horizon Optimal Control
Author: Dean A. Carlson
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2013-06-29
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3662025299

This monograph deals with various classes of deterministic continuous time optimal control problems wh ich are defined over unbounded time intervala. For these problems, the performance criterion is described by an improper integral and it is possible that, when evaluated at a given admissible element, this criterion is unbounded. To cope with this divergence new optimality concepts; referred to here as "overtaking", "weakly overtaking", "agreeable plans", etc. ; have been proposed. The motivation for studying these problems arisee primarily from the economic and biological aciences where models of this nature arise quite naturally since no natural bound can be placed on the time horizon when one considers the evolution of the state of a given economy or species. The reeponsibility for the introduction of this interesting class of problems rests with the economiste who first studied them in the modeling of capital accumulation processes. Perhaps the earliest of these was F. Ramsey who, in his seminal work on a theory of saving in 1928, considered a dynamic optimization model defined on an infinite time horizon. Briefly, this problem can be described as a "Lagrange problem with unbounded time interval". The advent of modern control theory, particularly the formulation of the famoue Maximum Principle of Pontryagin, has had a considerable impact on the treatment of these models as well as optimization theory in general.

Uncertain Optimal Control

Uncertain Optimal Control
Author: Yuanguo Zhu
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2018-08-29
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9811321345

This book introduces the theory and applications of uncertain optimal control, and establishes two types of models including expected value uncertain optimal control and optimistic value uncertain optimal control. These models, which have continuous-time forms and discrete-time forms, make use of dynamic programming. The uncertain optimal control theory relates to equations of optimality, uncertain bang-bang optimal control, optimal control with switched uncertain system, and optimal control for uncertain system with time-delay. Uncertain optimal control has applications in portfolio selection, engineering, and games. The book is a useful resource for researchers, engineers, and students in the fields of mathematics, cybernetics, operations research, industrial engineering, artificial intelligence, economics, and management science.

Rational Expectations and Econometric Practice

Rational Expectations and Econometric Practice
Author: Robert E. Lucas
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
Total Pages: 335
Release: 1988
Genre:
ISBN: 1452908281

Assumptions about how people form expectations for the future shape the properties of any dynamic economic model. To make economic decisions in an uncertain environment people must forecast such variables as future rates of inflation, tax rates, governme.

Foundations of Dynamic Economic Analysis

Foundations of Dynamic Economic Analysis
Author: Michael R. Caputo
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 632
Release: 2005-01-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1107717639

Foundations of Dynamic Economic Analysis presents a modern and thorough exposition of the fundamental mathematical formalism used to study optimal control theory, i.e., continuous time dynamic economic processes, and to interpret dynamic economic behavior. The style of presentation, with its continual emphasis on the economic interpretation of mathematics and models, distinguishes it from several other excellent texts on the subject. This approach is aided dramatically by introducing the dynamic envelope theorem and the method of comparative dynamics early in the exposition. Accordingly, motivated and economically revealing proofs of the transversality conditions come about by use of the dynamic envelope theorem. Furthermore, such sequencing of the material naturally leads to the development of the primal-dual method of comparative dynamics and dynamic duality theory, two modern approaches used to tease out the empirical content of optimal control models. The stylistic approach ultimately draws attention to the empirical richness of optimal control theory, a feature missing in virtually all other textbooks of this type.

Optimal Control for Mathematical Models of Cancer Therapies

Optimal Control for Mathematical Models of Cancer Therapies
Author: Heinz Schättler
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 511
Release: 2015-09-15
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1493929720

This book presents applications of geometric optimal control to real life biomedical problems with an emphasis on cancer treatments. A number of mathematical models for both classical and novel cancer treatments are presented as optimal control problems with the goal of constructing optimal protocols. The power of geometric methods is illustrated with fully worked out complete global solutions to these mathematically challenging problems. Elaborate constructions of optimal controls and corresponding system responses provide great examples of applications of the tools of geometric optimal control and the outcomes aid the design of simpler, practically realizable suboptimal protocols. The book blends mathematical rigor with practically important topics in an easily readable tutorial style. Graduate students and researchers in science and engineering, particularly biomathematics and more mathematical aspects of biomedical engineering, would find this book particularly useful.