Introduction

This book, first published in 1996, introduces students to optimization theory and its use in economics and allied disciplines.

Part I: Existence of Solutions

The first of its three parts examines the existence of solutions to optimization problems in Rn, and how these solutions may be identified.

Part II: Sensitivity of Solutions

The second part explores how solutions to optimization problems change with changes in the underlying parameters.

Part III: Dynamic Programming

The last part provides an extensive description of the fundamental principles of finite- and infinite-horizon dynamic programming.

Examples and Procedures

Each chapter contains a number of detailed examples explaining both the theory and its applications for first-year master’s and graduate students. Cookbook procedures are accompanied by a discussion of when such methods are guaranteed to be successful, and, equally importantly, when they could fail. Each result in the main body of the text is also accompanied by a complete proof.

Additional Content

A preliminary chapter and three appendices are designed to keep the book mathematically self-contained.