Lecture Notes on The Optimal Growth Problem

These notes provide an introduction to the study of optimal growth in the one-sector neoclassical growth model in continuous time. The model is developed using the analogy of Robinson Crusoe living on a deserted island. Both the Hamiltonian method and the phase diagram are presented and explained on an intuitive level. Some familiarity with optimization theory and differential equations, as well as a thorough understanding of intermediatelevel microeconomics, is assumed.