We deal with differential conditions for local optimality. The conditions we derive for inequality constrained problems do not require constraint qualifications and are the broadest conditions based only on first and second order derivatives. A similar result is proved for equality constrained problems, although necessary conditions require regularity of the equality constraints.

Recently two distinct forms of rule-utilitarianism have been introduced that differ on how to measure the consequences of rules. Brad Hooker advocates fixed-rate ruleutilitarianism (which measures the expected value of the rule’s consequences at a 90 percent acceptance rate), while Michael Ridge advocates variable-rate rule-utilitarianism (which measures the average expected value of the rule’s...

Economists traditionally tackle normative problems by computing optimal policy, i.e., the one that maximizes a social welfare function. In practice, however, a succession of marginal changes to a limited number of policy instruments are implemented, until no further improvement is feasible. I call such an outcome a “restricted local optimum”. I consider the outcome of such a tatonment process f...

The spread of rumors through social media and online social networks can not only disrupt the daily lives of citizens but also result in loss of life and property. A rumor spreads when individuals, who are unable decide the authenticity of the information, mistake the rumor as genuine information and pass it on to their acquaintances. We propose a solution where a set of individuals (based on t...

ABSTRACT: Non-linear programming deals with the problem of optimizing an objective function in the presence of equality and inequality constraints. Most of the classical deterministic methods encounter two major problems: (i) the solution obtained is heavily dependent on the starting solution: and (ii) the methods often converge to inferior local optima. This paper examines the relationship bet...

This paper studies a Diamond-Dybvig model of …nancial intermediation providing insurance against unobservable liquidity shocks in the presence of unobservable trades on private markets. We show that in this case competitive equilibria are ine¢ cient. A social planner …nds it bene…cial to introduce a wedge between the interest rate implicit in optimal allocations and the economy’s marginal rate ...

Models of influenza transmission have focused on the ability of vaccination, antiviral therapy, and social distancing strategies to mitigate epidemics. Influenza transmission, however, may also be interrupted by hygiene interventions such as frequent hand washing and wearing masks or respirators. We apply a model of influenza disease transmission that incorporates hygiene and social distancing ...

We consider a hunting area and a wildlife reserve and answer the question: How does clever migration decision affect the social optimal and the private optimal hunting levels and population stocks? We analyze this in a model allowing for two-way migration between hunting and reserve areas, where the populations’ migration decisions depend on both hunting pressure and relative population densiti...

Multi-objective optimisation is a proven well known parameter tuning technique in complex power system problems. It is especially suited to solve complex transmission network expansion planning. This paper proposes a practical method for transmission network expansion planning by bacterial foraging technique. The electricity industry has always been interested in expanding investment in the tra...

We develop in this article the first actor–critic reinforcement learning algorithm with function approximation for a problem of control under multiple inequality constraints. We consider the infinite horizon discounted cost framework in which both the objective and the constraint functions are suitable expected policy-dependent discounted sums of certain sample path functions. We apply the Lagr...