Decision and control in uncertain resource systems (Q1059533)

The book deals with the mathematical theory of the management of natural resources, i.e. the theory of resource exploration and exploitation (sometimes one uses the name ''mathematical resource economics'' for management of exhaustible resource stocks and the name ''mathematical bioeconomics'' for management of renewable resource stocks). It is important that natural resource systems are considered under uncertainty (due to various fluctuations in nature, lack of information about systems etc.). The main tools of the analysis of such systems are the theory of stochastic processes (Brownian motion process, jump processes, stochastic differential equations, Kalman filtering) reviewed in Ch. 1 and optimal stochastic control (mainly stochastic dynamic programming) reviewed in Ch. 2. These theoretical concepts are illustrated by means of examples from resource management. Ch. 3 contains a survey of deterministic models used in resource management including a review of optimal control theory and calculus of variation. Ch. 3-7 deal gradually with the optimal exploration (search and assessment) and exploitation of exhaustible and renewable resources (including even the possibility of simultaneous treatment of renewable and exhaustible resource stocks and learning about the nature of distribution (updating)). Various practical problems (e.g. surveys of fish populations, allocation of fishing rights, agricultural pest control) demonstrate the particular methods. Finally, numerical methods useful for stochastic control problems are reviewed in Ch. 8.