Foundations of Dynamic Economic Analysis: Optimal Control Theory and Applications

by Michael R. Caputo

Presenting a thorough introductory exposition of optimal control theory, this work differs from the existing textbooks on the subject due to its emphasis on the economic interpretation of the mathematics and the qualitative properties of the solutions. Moreover, it is a modern exposition of optimal control theory in that it presents numerous complementary methods. It is aimed at first-year and second-year PhD students in economics, agricultural and resource economics, operations research, management science, and applied mathematics.

Genres: Economics

592 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2004

Reviews

[Matrix · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are few books in economics, specially, in mathematical economics, that guide the readers in a very structured manner. Other books are gradual, yes, but this book reads like a Lego set. You start with a base, and you add more and more till the entire structure is complete. I personally am in favor of this style.

The sections on the necessary and sufficient conditions are phenomenal. The chapter on the envelope theorem is rigorous.

The chapter on the RCK model, is very useful. It reads easier than Cass (1965) but given the general presentation, a motivated student can very quickly see how an algorithm to solve the model can be written for a computer program, and how deviations from the general structure of the problem can be dealt with.

I wish this was my text-book when I studied control theory for the first time. I am glad I eventually found this book.

Note about the e-book on Kindle:

This version is terribly typeset. Equations seem like images and not actually typeset. This is a problem I found very specifically with the e-book on Kindle.