Elements of Numerical Mathematical Economics with Excel

Chapter 5

Classical static nonlinear optimization theory

Abstract

The classical static nonlinear optimization gives the essential techniques to solve several problems not only in the areas of pure economics but also in other economic applied fields, like operations research and financial mathematics (e.g., portfolio theory), just to mention a few. The nonlinear optimization is divided into the unconstrained optimization and the constrained optimization; and under the constrained case, there may be constraints either represented by equalities, to which the Lagrange multipliers technique is applied or represented by weak inequalities, to which the Kuhn–Tucker conditions apply. The unconstrained optimization for univariate functions is essentially ...