These notes provide an intuitive introduction to dynamic programming. The first two Sections, which can be skipped, present the standard deterministic Ramsey model using the Lagrangian approach. Section 3 reformulates the Ramsey problem by means of a Bellman equation, while Section 4 shows how...

This is my PhD dissertation defended in 1966 at the University of Minnesota and it was never published. It has been cited and used in other researchers work so I now make it available. The problem of optimal resource allocation over time is formulated as an optimal control problem. This is where...

Combining concrete policy-oriented modeling strategies of World War II with what was received as traditional neoclassical theory, in 1956 Robert Solow constructed a simple, clean, and smooth-functioning "design" model that served many different purposes. As a working object it enabled...