The Nelder-Mead simplex method is an optimization routine that works well with irregular objective functions. For a function of <InlineEquation ID="IEq1"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$$n$$</EquationSource> </InlineEquation> parameters, it compares the objective function at the <InlineEquation ID="IEq2"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$$n+1$$</EquationSource> </InlineEquation> vertices of a simplex and updates the worst vertex through simplex search steps. However, a...</equationsource></inlineequation></equationsource></inlineequation>

We analyze optimal income taxes and optimal schooling subsidies in a dynamic private information economy with observable human capital accumulation. We show that under plausible conditions the marginal schooling subsidies are positive and that they are zero at both endpoints of the skill...

This paper characterizes optimal income taxes in a dynamic economy where human capital is unobservable and the government is restricted to use taxes that depend only on current income. I show that unobservability of human capital tends to decrease the labor wedge, while the effect on the human...

This article studies efficient allocations in a dynamic private information economy with a continuum of idiosyncratic shocks that are persistent. I develop a first-order approach for this environment and show that the problem has a simple recursive structure that relies on only a small number of...