In this paper we study the behavior of optimal paths in dynamic programming models with a strictly convex return function. Such a model has been investigated in Dawid and Kopel (1997) who assume that the growth of a renewable resource is governed by a piecewise linear function. We prove that in...

This paper explores the idea of using artificial adaptive agents in economic theory. In particular, we use Genetic Algorithms (GAs) to model the learning behavior of a population of adaptive and boundedly rational agents interacting in an economic system. We analyze the behavior of a GA in two...

In this paper we consider a class of time discrete intertemporal optimization models in one dimension. We present a technique to construct intertemporal optimization models with nonconcave objective functions, such that the optimal policy function coincides with any pre-specified C2 function....

In this paper a quantity-setting duopoly is considered where one firm develops a new product which is horizontally differentiated from the existing product. The main question examined is which strategically important effects occur if the decision to develop the innovation and the decision to...

We analyze a duopoly where capacity-constrained firms offer an established product and have the option to offer an additional new and differentiated product. We show that the firm with the smaller capacity on the established market has a higher incentive to innovate and reaches a larger market...

The main aim of this paper is to study the propensity of consumer cooperatives (Coops) to use incentive schemes in situations of strategic interaction with profit-maximizing firms (PMFs). Our model provides a reason why Coops are less prone than PMFs to pay variable bonuses to their managers. We...

In this paper we study an oligopoly market where profit-maximizing firms and socially concerned firms compete in quantities. Confronting remarks by Milton Friedman and Gary Becker, we are using an evolutionary setting to investigate the endogenous choice of the proper objective of business firms...