Optimization and Chaos

Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 appeared in a Symposium on Chaotic Dynamical Systems in Economic Theory (Volume 4, Number 5, 1994). For a course on dynamic optimization addressed to students with a good background in economic theory and real analysis, one can assign Chapter 2 as a partial introduction to the basic tech­ niques.

This collection of essays brings together some articles on dynamic optimization models that exhibit chaotic behavior. Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 appeared in a Symposium on Chaotic Dynamical Systems in Economic Theory (Volume 4, Number 5, 1994). Also, Chapters 10,11, and 12 appeared in the Journal of Economic The­ ory. We would like to thank the authors, and Academic Press for permission to reprint. We are grateful to Professor C.D. Aliprantis for suggesting the idea of a book structured around the Economic Theory Symposium, and without the support and patience of Dr. Mueller this project could not have been completed. We would like to thank Ms. Amy Gowan who cheerfully per­ formed the arduous task of typing the manuscript. Thanks are also due to Xiao Qing Yu, Tridip Ray and Malabika Majumdar for their help at various stages in the preparation of the manuscript. For a course on dynamic optimization addressed to students with a good background in economic theory and real analysis, one can assign Chapter 2 as a partial introduction to the basic tech­ niques. Chapters 3 and 4 can be assigned to provide examples of simple optmization models generating complicated behavior.