Mathematical Programming and Economic Analysis

This volume collects the lectures given by the author as part of the Quantitative Methods for Management course at the Faculty of Economics of the USI – Università della Svizzera italiana – in Lugano, Switzerland, over the past few years. The volume presents the main quantitative methods and techniques used to support economic and business decisions. It could be regarded as a book on ‘Operational Research’, but differs from other textbooks in its original approach and the variety of models and tools introduced. The book consists of seven chapters: The Algebra of Matrices and Linear Systems (written in collaboration with Nigel Webb); Linear Programming (with Stefano Solari); Integer Linear Programming; Graph Theory; Input-Output Analysis; Game Theory (with Giulio Fezzi); Differential Calculus. Each chapter defines the theoretical aspects of the subject and offers a number of examples of applications to economic and business administration. The mathematical framework is rigorous but intuitive, so that students can readily see how to use mathematics in these contexts. The chapter on Game Theory represents an alternative and widely used approach to many problems in economics and business. Every chapter ends with a brief bibliography of further reading. The book aims to provide the student with an independent capability to examine a real economic problem, to formulate a mathematical model for representing it, to develop a suitable algorithm to achieve a solution and, finally, to interpret the results. The book is intended for students of economics, business studies and management, engineering and applied mathematics, both undergraduate and graduate