Linear Programming And Economic Analysis

Designed primarily for economists and those interested in management economics who are not necessarily accomplished mathematicians, this text offers a clear, concise exposition of the relationship of linear programming to standard economic analysis. The research and writing were supported by The RAND Corporation in the late 1950s. Linear programming has been one of the most important postwar developments in economic theory, but until publication of the present volume, no text offered a comprehensive treatment of the many facets of the relationship of linear programming to traditional economic theory. This book was the first to provide a wide-ranging survey of such important aspects of the topic as the interrelations between the celebrated von Neumann theory of games and linear programming, and the relationship between game theory and the traditional economic theories of duopoly and bilateral monopoly. Modern economists will especially appreciate the treatment of the connection between linear programming and modern welfare economics and the insights that linear programming gives into the determinateness of Walrasian equilibrium. The book also offers an excellent introduction to the important Leontief theory of input-output as well as extensive treatment of the problems of dynamic linear programming. Successfully used for three decades in graduate economics courses, this book stresses practical problems and specifies important concrete applications.

One of the fundamental economic problems is one of making the best use of limited resources. As a result, mathematical optimisation methods play a crucial role in economic theory. Covering the use of such methods in applied and policy contexts, this book deals not only with the main techniques (linear programming, nonlinear optimisation and dynamic programming), but also emphasizes the art of model-building and discusses fields such as optimisation over time.

"Mathematical Optimization and Economic Analysis" is a self-contained introduction to various optimization techniques used in economic modeling and analysis such as geometric, linear, and convex programming and data envelopment analysis. Through a systematic approach, this book demonstrates the usefulness of these mathematical tools in quantitative and qualitative economic analysis. The book presents specific examples to demonstrate each technique’s advantages and applicability as well as numerous applications of these techniques to industrial economics, regulatory economics, trade policy, economic sustainability, production planning, and environmental policy. Key Features include: - A detailed presentation of both single-objective and multiobjective optimization; - An in-depth exposition of various applied optimization problems; - Implementation of optimization tools to improve the accuracy of various economic models; - Extensive resources suggested for further reading. This book is intended for graduate and postgraduate students studying quantitative economics, as well as economics researchers and applied mathematicians. Requirements include a basic knowledge of calculus and linear algebra, and a familiarity with economic modeling.

Economic policy and operations research; Methods of linear programming: extension and applications; Nonlinear and dynamic programming; Sensitivity analysis in programming; Probabilistic programming methods; Models of firm behavior and other applications; Models of resource allocation and planning in educational institutions and systems; Models of decomposition or decentralization in firm behavior and economic policy; Operations research and complex social systems.