๐Ÿ“– Univariate and bivariate optimization#

โฑ | words

Note

While computation is not a formal part of the course
there will be little bits of code in the lectures to illustrate the kinds of things we can do.

  • All the code will be written in the Python programming language

  • It is not assessable

You might find value in actually running the code shown in lectures
If you want to do so please refer to linked GitHub repository (upper right corner)

Univariate Optimization#

Let \(f \colon [a, b] \to \mathbb{R}\) be a differentiable (smooth) function

  • \([a, b]\) is all \(x\) with \(a \leq x \leq b\)

  • \(\mathbb{R}\) is โ€œall numbersโ€

  • \(f\) takes \(x \in [a, b]\) and returns number \(f(x)\)

  • derivative \(f'(x)\) exists for all \(x\) with \(a < x < b\)

Definition

A point \(x^* \in [a, b]\) is called a

  • maximizer of \(f\) on \([a, b]\) if \(f(x^*) \geq f(x)\) for all \(x \in [a,b]\)

  • minimizer of \(f\) on \([a, b]\) if \(f(x^*) \leq f(x)\) for all \(x \in [a,b]\)

Hide code cell content
from myst_nb import glue
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

def subplots():
    "Custom subplots with axes through the origin"
    fig, ax = plt.subplots()
    # Set the axes through the origin
    for spine in ['left', 'bottom']:
        ax.spines[spine].set_position('zero')
    for spine in ['right', 'top']:
        ax.spines[spine].set_color('none')
    return fig, ax

xmin, xmax = 2, 8
xgrid = np.linspace(xmin, xmax, 200)
f = lambda x: -(x - 4)**2 + 10

xstar = 4.0
fig, ax = subplots()
ax.plot([xstar], [0],  'ro', alpha=0.6)
ax.set_ylim(-12, 15)
ax.set_xlim(-1, 10)
ax.set_xticks([2, xstar, 6, 8, 10])
ax.set_xticklabels([2, r'$x^*=4$', 6, 8, 10], fontsize=14)
ax.plot(xgrid, f(xgrid), 'b-', lw=2, alpha=0.8, label=r'$f(x) = -(x-4)^2+10$')
ax.plot((xstar, xstar), (0, f(xstar)), 'k--', lw=1, alpha=0.8)
#ax.legend(frameon=False, loc='upper right', fontsize=16)
glue("fig_maximizer", fig, display=False)

xstar = xmax
fig, ax = subplots()
ax.plot([xstar], [0],  'ro', alpha=0.6)
ax.text(xstar, 1, r'$x^{**}=8$', fontsize=16)
ax.set_ylim(-12, 15)
ax.set_xlim(-1, 10)
ax.set_xticks([2, 4, 6, 10])
ax.set_xticklabels([2, 4, 6, 10], fontsize=14)
ax.plot(xgrid, f(xgrid), 'b-', lw=2, alpha=0.8, label=r'$f(x) = -(x-4)^2+10$')
ax.plot((xstar, xstar), (0, f(xstar)), 'k--', lw=1, alpha=0.8)
#ax.legend(frameon=False, loc='upper right', fontsize=16)
glue("fig_minimizer", fig, display=False)

xmin, xmax = 0, 1
xgrid1 = np.linspace(xmin, xmax, 100)
xgrid2 = np.linspace(xmax, 2, 10)

fig, ax = subplots()
ax.set_ylim(0, 1.1)
ax.set_xlim(-0.0, 2)
func_string = r'$f(x) = x^2$ if $x < 1$ else $f(x) = 0.5$'
ax.plot(xgrid1, xgrid1**2, 'b-', lw=3, alpha=0.6, label=func_string)
ax.plot(xgrid2, 0 * xgrid2 + 0.5, 'b-', lw=3, alpha=0.6)
#ax.legend(frameon=False, loc='lower right', fontsize=16)
glue("fig_none", fig, display=False)
_images/0be34442a538f901c6a5600d100015dc99432fcebd691c4f4df699c5fa2c97f4.png _images/0eec5cd996a9d76bb574b9fb07a99f4fce6a8763d32de9f41e6fe6a1850f85d0.png _images/49da4b7da743841e858ab2c6c5ec26288fcae0e76dfc3c49276221bd9224f539.png

Example

Let

  • \(f(x) = -(x-4)^2 + 10\)

  • \(a = 2\) and \(b=8\)

Then

  • \(x^* = 4\) is a maximizer of \(f\) on \([2, 8]\)

  • \(x^{**} = 8\) is a minimizer of \(f\) on \([2, 8]\)

_images/0be34442a538f901c6a5600d100015dc99432fcebd691c4f4df699c5fa2c97f4.png

Fig. 1 Maximizer on \([a, b] = [2, 8]\) is \(x^* = 4\)#

_images/0eec5cd996a9d76bb574b9fb07a99f4fce6a8763d32de9f41e6fe6a1850f85d0.png

Fig. 2 Minimizer on \([a, b] = [2, 8]\) is \(x^{**} = 8\)#

The set of maximizers/minimizers can be

  • empty

  • a singleton (contains one element)

  • finite (contains a number of elements)

  • infinite (contains infinitely many elements)

Example: infinite maximizers

\(f \colon [0, 1] \to \mathbb{R}\) defined by \(f(x) =1\)
has infinitely many maximizers and minimizers on \([0, 1]\)

Example: no maximizers

The following function has no maximizers on \([0, 2]\)

\[\begin{split} f(x) = \begin{cases} x^2 & \text{ if } x < 1 \\ 1/2 & \text{ otherwise} \end{cases} \end{split}\]
_images/49da4b7da743841e858ab2c6c5ec26288fcae0e76dfc3c49276221bd9224f539.png

Fig. 3 No maximizer on \([0, 2]\)#

Definition

Point \(x\) is called interior to \([a, b]\) if \(a < x < b\)

The set of all interior points is written \((a, b)\)

We refer to \(x^* \in [a, b]\) as

  • interior maximizer if both a maximizer and interior

  • interior minimizer if both a minimizer and interior

Finding optima#

Definition

A stationary point of \(f\) on \([a, b]\) is an interior point \(x\) with \(f'(x) = 0\)

_images/stationary1.png

Fig. 4 Interior maximizers/minimizers are stationary points.#

_images/stationary2.png

Fig. 5 Not all stationary points are maximizers!#

Fact

If \(f\) is differentiable and \(x^*\) is either an interior minimizer or an interior maximizer of \(f\) on \([a, b]\), then \(x^*\) is stationary

Sketch of proof, for maximizers:

\[ f'(x^*) = \, \lim_{h \to 0} \, \frac{f(x^* + h) - f(x^*)}{h} \qquad \text{(by def.)} \]
\[ \Rightarrow f(x^* + h) \approx f(x^*) + f'(x^*) h \qquad \text{for small } h \]

If \(f'(x^*) \ne 0\) then exists small \(h\) such that \(f(x^* + h) > f(x^*)\)

Hence interior maximizers must be stationary โ€” otherwise we can do better

Fact

Previous fact \(\implies\)

\(\implies\) any interior maximizer stationary
\(\implies\) set of interior maximizers \(\subset\) set of stationary points
\(\implies\) maximizers \(\subset\) stationary points \(\cup \{a\} \cup \{b\}\)

Algorithm for univariate problems

  1. Locate stationary points

  2. Evaluate \(y = f(x)\) for each stationary \(x\) and for \(a\), \(b\)

  3. Pick point giving largest \(y\) value

Minimization: same idea

Example

Letโ€™s solve

\[ \max_{-2 \leq x \leq 5} f(x) \quad \text{where} \quad f(x) = x^3 - 6x^2 + 4x + 8 \]

Steps

  • Differentiate to get \(f'(x) = 3x^2 - 12x + 4\)

  • Solve \(3x^2 - 12x + 4 = 0\) to get stationary \(x\)

  • Discard any stationary points outside \([-2, 5]\)

  • Eval \(f\) at remaining points plus end points \(-2\) and \(5\)

  • Pick point giving largest value

from sympy import *
x = Symbol('x')
points = [-2, 5]
f = x**3 - 6*x**2 + 4*x + 8
fp = diff(f, x)
spoints = solve(fp, x)
points.extend(spoints)
v = [f.subs(x, c).evalf() for c in points]
maximizer = points[v.index(max(v))]
print("Maximizer =", str(maximizer),'=',maximizer.evalf())
Maximizer = 2 - 2*sqrt(6)/3 = 0.367006838144548
Hide code cell source
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
xgrid = np.linspace(-2, 5, 200)
f = lambda x: x**3 - 6*x**2 + 4*x + 8
fig, ax = plt.subplots()
ax.plot(xgrid, f(xgrid), 'g-', lw=2, alpha=0.8)
ax.grid()
_images/782ec44636f0282b4eafad93d55d76cc0eebe60bd76cf3a9e7af475c460f2fe4.png

Shape Conditions and Sufficiency#

When is \(f'(x^*) = 0\) sufficient for \(x^*\) to be a maximizer?

One answer: When \(f\) is concave

Hide code cell source
xgrid = np.linspace(-2, 2, 200)
f = lambda x: - 8*x**2 + 8
fig, ax = subplots()
ax.set_ylim(-15, 10)
ax.set_yticks([-15, -10, -5, 5, 10])
ax.set_xticks([-1, 0, 1])
ax.plot(xgrid, f(xgrid), 'b-', lw=2, alpha=0.8, label='concave $f$')
ax.legend(frameon=False, loc='lower right')
plt.show()
_images/5d0eaf934a3f39b10d564b7ae41c29a69ec89f97c958c46a93a58cc1e8c845b0.png

(Full definition deferred)

Sufficient conditions for concavity in one dimension

Let \(f \colon [a, b] \to \mathbb{R}\)

  • If \(f''(x) \leq 0\) for all \(x \in (a, b)\) then \(f\) is concave on \((a, b)\)

  • If \(f''(x) < 0\) for all \(x \in (a, b)\) then \(f\) is strictly concave on \((a, b)\)

Example

  • \(f(x) = a + b x\) is concave on \(\mathbb{R}\) but not strictly

  • \(f(x) = \log(x)\) is strictly concave on \((0, \infty)\)

When is \(f'(x^*) = 0\) sufficient for \(x^*\) to be a minimizer?

One answer: When \(f\) is convex

Hide code cell source
xgrid = np.linspace(-2, 2, 200)
f = lambda x: - 8*x**2 + 8
fig, ax = subplots()
ax.set_ylim(-10, 15)
ax.set_yticks([-10, -5, 5, 10, 15])
ax.set_xticks([-1, 0, 1])
ax.plot(xgrid, -f(xgrid), 'b-', lw=2, alpha=0.8, label='convex $f$')
ax.legend(frameon=False, loc='lower right')
plt.show()
_images/8505cfa7772b1541c20724fff1b8369ee3fb3c7af5bc69c611da499c1723638b.png

(Full definition deferred)

Sufficient conditions for convexity in one dimension

Let \(f \colon [a, b] \to \mathbb{R}\)

  • If \(f''(x) \geq 0\) for all \(x \in (a, b)\) then \(f\) is convex on \((a, b)\)

  • If \(f''(x) > 0\) for all \(x \in (a, b)\) then \(f\) is strictly convex on \((a, b)\)

Example

  • \(f(x) = a + b x\) is convex on \(\mathbb{R}\) but not strictly

  • \(f(x) = x^2\) is strictly convex on \(\mathbb{R}\)

Sufficiency and uniqueness with shape conditions#

Fact

For maximizers:

  • If \(f \colon [a,b] \to \mathbb{R}\) is concave and \(x^* \in (a, b)\) is stationary then \(x^*\) is a maximizer

  • If, in addition, \(f\) is strictly concave, then \(x^*\) is the unique maximizer

Fact

For minimizers:

  • If \(f \colon [a,b] \to \mathbb{R}\) is convex and \(x^* \in (a, b)\) is stationary then \(x^*\) is a minimizer

  • If, in addition, \(f\) is strictly convex, then \(x^*\) is the unique minimizer

Example

A price taking firm faces output price \(p > 0\), input price \(w >0\)

Maximize profits with respect to input \(\ell\)

\[ \max_{\ell \ge 0} \pi(\ell) = p f(\ell) - w \ell, \]

where the production technology is given by

\[ f(\ell) = \ell^{\alpha}, 0 < \alpha < 1. \]

Evidently

\[ \pi'(\ell) = \alpha p \ell^{\alpha - 1} - w, \]

so unique stationary point is

\[ \ell^* = (\alpha p/w)^{1/(1 - \alpha)} \]

Moreover,

\[ \pi''(\ell) = \alpha (\alpha - 1) p \ell^{\alpha - 2} < 0 \]

for all \(\ell \ge 0\) so \(\ell^*\) is unique maximizer.

Hide code cell content
p = 2.0
w = 1.0
alpha = 0.6
xstar = (alpha * p / w)**(1/(1 - alpha))
xgrid = np.linspace(0, 4, 200)
f = lambda x: x**alpha
pi = lambda x: p * f(x) - w * x
fig, ax = subplots()
ax.set_xticks([1,xstar,2,3])
ax.set_xticklabels(['1',r'$\ell^*$','2','3'], fontsize=14)
ax.plot(xgrid, pi(xgrid), 'b-', lw=2, alpha=0.8, label=r'$\pi(\ell) = p\ell^{\alpha} - w\ell$')
ax.plot((xstar, xstar), (0, pi(xstar)), 'g--', lw=1, alpha=0.8)
#ax.legend(frameon=False, loc='upper right', fontsize=16)
glue("fig_price_taker", fig, display=False)
glue("ellstar", round(xstar,4))
_images/742316a5373c1d51f2975315640fb4bdcfa1a5879f3bee137a36d9627fb87816.png

Fig. 6 Profit maximization with \(p=2\), \(w=1\), \(\alpha=0.6\), \(\ell^*=\)1.5774#

Functions of two variables#

Letโ€™s have a look at some functions of two variables

  • How to visualize them

  • Slope, contours, etc.

Example: Cobb-Douglas production function

Consider production function

\[\begin{split} f(k, \ell) = k^{\alpha} \ell^{\beta}\\ \alpha \ge 0, \, \beta \ge 0, \, \alpha + \beta < 1 \end{split}\]

Letโ€™s graph it in two dimensions.

_images/prod2d.png

Fig. 7 Production function with \(\alpha=0.4\), \(\beta=0.5\) (a)#

_images/prod2d_1.png

Fig. 8 Production function with \(\alpha=0.4\), \(\beta=0.5\) (b)#

_images/prod2d_2.png

Fig. 9 Production function with \(\alpha=0.4\), \(\beta=0.5\) (c)#

Like many 3D plots itโ€™s hard to get a good understanding

Letโ€™s try again with contours plus heat map

_images/prodcontour.png

Fig. 10 Production function with \(\alpha=0.4\), \(\beta=0.5\), contours#

In this context the contour lines are called isoquants

Can you see how \(\alpha < \beta\) shows up in the slope of the contours?

We can drop the colours to see the numbers more clearly

_images/prodcontour2.png

Fig. 11 Production function with \(\alpha=0.4\), \(\beta=0.5\)#

Example: log-utility

Let \(u(x_1,x_2)\) be โ€œutilityโ€ gained from \(x_1\) units of good 1 and \(x_2\) units of good 2

We take

\[ u(x_1, x_2) = \alpha \log(x_1) + \beta \log(x_2) \]

where

  • \(\alpha\) and \(\beta\) are parameters

  • we assume \(\alpha>0, \, \beta > 0\)

  • The log functions mean โ€œdiminishing returnsโ€ in each good

_images/log_util.png

Fig. 12 Log utility with \(\alpha=0.4\), \(\beta=0.5\)#

Letโ€™s look at the contour lines

For utility functions, contour lines called indifference curves

_images/log_util_contour.png

Fig. 13 Indifference curves of log utility with \(\alpha=0.4\), \(\beta=0.5\)#

Example: quasi-linear utility

\[ u(x_1, x_2) = x_1 + \log(x_2) \]
  • Called quasi-linear because linear in good 1

_images/ql_utility.png

Fig. 14 Quasi-linear utility#

_images/ql_utility_contour.png

Fig. 15 Indifference curves of quasi-linear utility#

Example: quadratic utility

\[ u(x_1, x_2) = - (x_1 - b_1)^2 - (x_2 - b_2)^2 \]

Here

  • \(b_1\) is a โ€œsatiationโ€ or โ€œblissโ€ point for \(x_1\)

  • \(b_2\) is a โ€œsatiationโ€ or โ€œblissโ€ point for \(x_2\)

Dissatisfaction increases with deviations from the bliss points

_images/quad_util.png

Fig. 16 Quadratic utility with \(b_1 = 3\) and \(b_2 = 2\)#

_images/quad_util_contour.png

Fig. 17 Indifference curves quadratic utility with \(b_1 = 3\) and \(b_2 = 2\)#

Bivariate Optimization#

Consider \(f \colon I \to \mathbb{R}\) where \(I \subset \mathbb{R}^2\)

The set \(\mathbb{R}^2\) is all \((x_1, x_2)\) pairs

Definition

A point \((x_1^*, x_2^*) \in I\) is called a maximizer of \(f\) on \(I\) if

\[ f(x_1^*, x_2^*) \geq f(x_1, x_2) \quad \text{for all} \quad (x_1, x_2) \in I \]

Definition

A point \((x_1^*, x_2^*) \in I\) is called a minimizer of \(f\) on \(I\) if

\[ f(x_1^*, x_2^*) \leq f(x_1, x_2) \quad \text{for all} \quad (x_1, x_2) \in I \]

When they exist, the partial derivatives at \((x_1, x_2) \in I\) are

\[\begin{split} f_1(x_1, x_2) = \frac{\partial}{\partial x_1} f(x_1, x_2) \\ f_2(x_1, x_2) = \frac{\partial}{\partial x_2} f(x_1, x_2) \end{split}\]

Example

When \(f(k, \ell) = k^\alpha \ell^\beta\),

\[ f_1(k, \ell) = \frac{\partial}{\partial k} f(k, \ell) = \frac{\partial}{\partial k} k^\alpha \ell^\beta = \alpha k^{\alpha-1} \ell^\beta \]

Definition

An interior point \((x_1, x_2) \in I\) is called stationary for \(f\) if

\[ f_1(x_1, x_2) = f_2(x_1, x_2) = 0 \]

Fact

Let \(f \colon I \to \mathbb{R}\) be a continuously differentiable function. If \((x_1^*, x_2^*)\) is either

  • an interior maximizer of \(f\) on \(I\), or

  • an interior minimizer of \(f\) on \(I\),

then \((x_1^*, x_2^*)\) is a stationary point of \(f\)

Usage, for maximization:

  1. Compute partials

  2. Set partials to zero to find \(S =\) all stationary points

  3. Evaluate candidates in \(S\) and boundary of \(I\)

  4. Select point \((x^*_1, x_2^*)\) yielding highest value

Example

\[ f(x_1, x_2) = x_1^2 + 4 x_2^2 \rightarrow \min \quad \mathrm{s.t.} \quad x_1 + x_2 \leq 1 \]

Setting

\[ f_1(x_1, x_2) = 2 x_1 = 0 \quad \text{and} \quad f_2(x_1, x_2) = 8 x_2 = 0 \]

gives the unique stationary point \((0, 0)\), at which \(f(0, 0) = 0\)

On the boundary we have \(x_1 + x_2 = 1\), so

\[ f(x_1, x_2) = f(x_1, 1 - x_1) = x_1^2 + 4 (1 - x_1)^2 \]

Exercise: Show right hand side \(> 0\) for any \(x_1\)

Hence minimizer is \((x_1^*, x_2^*) = (0, 0)\)

Nasty secrets#

Solving for \((x_1, x_2)\) such that \(f_1(x_1, x_2) = 0\) and \(f_2(x_1, x_2) = 0\) can be hard

  • System of nonlinear equations

  • Might have no analytical solution

  • Set of solutions can be a continuum

Example

(Donโ€™t) try to find all stationary points of

\[ f(x_1, x_2) = \frac{\cos(x_1^2 + x_2^2) + x_1^2 + x_1}{2 + p(-x_1^2) + \sin^2(x_2)} \]

Also:

  • Boundary is often a continuum, not just two points

  • Things get even harder in higher dimensions

On the other hand:

  • Most classroom examples are chosen to avoid these problems

  • Life is still pretty easy if we have concavity / convexity

  • Clever tricks have been found for certain kinds of problems

Second Order Partials#

Let \(f \colon I \to \mathbb{R}\) and, when they exist, denote

\[ f_{11}(x_1, x_2) = \frac{\partial^2}{\partial x_1^2} f(x_1, x_2) \]
\[ f_{12}(x_1, x_2) = \frac{\partial^2}{\partial x_1 \partial x_2} f(x_1, x_2) \]
\[ f_{21}(x_1, x_2) = \frac{\partial^2}{\partial x_2 \partial x_1} f(x_1, x_2) \]
\[ f_{22}(x_1, x_2) = \frac{\partial^2}{\partial x_2^2} f(x_1, x_2) \]

Example: Cobb-Douglas technology with linear costs

If \(\pi(k, \ell) = p k^{\alpha} \ell^{\beta} - w \ell - r k\) then

\[ \pi_{11}(k, \ell) = p \alpha(\alpha-1) k^{\alpha-2} \ell^{\beta} \]
\[ \pi_{12}(k, \ell) = p \alpha\beta k^{\alpha-1} \ell^{\beta-1} \]
\[ \pi_{21}(k, \ell) = p \alpha\beta k^{\alpha-1} \ell^{\beta-1} \]
\[ \pi_{22}(k, \ell) = p \beta(\beta-1) k^{\alpha} \ell^{\beta-2} \]

Fact

If \(f \colon I \to \mathbb{R}\) is twice continuously differentiable at \((x_1, x_2)\), then

\[ f_{12}(x_1, x_2) = f_{21}(x_1, x_2) \]

Exercise: Confirm the results in the exercise above.

Shape conditions in 2D#

Let \(I\) be an โ€œopenโ€ set (only interior points โ€“ formalities next week)

Let \(f \colon I \to \mathbb{R}\) be twice continuously differentiable

Fact

The function \(f\) is strictly concave on \(I\) if, for any \((x_1, x_2) \in I\)

  1. \(f_{11}(x_1, x_2) < 0\)

  2. \(f_{11}(x_1, x_2) \, f_{22}(x_1, x_2) > f_{12}(x_1, x_2)^2\)

Fact

The function \(f\) is strictly convex on \(I\) if, for any \((x_1, x_2) \in I\)

  1. \(f_{11}(x_1, x_2) > 0\)

  2. \(f_{11}(x_1, x_2) \, f_{22}(x_1, x_2) > f_{12}(x_1, x_2)^2\)

When is stationarity sufficient?

Fact

If \(f\) is differentiable and strictly concave on \(I\), then any stationary point of \(f\) is also a unique maximizer of \(f\) on \(I\)

Fact

If \(f\) is differentiable and strictly convex on \(I\), then any stationary point of \(f\) is also a unique minimizer of \(f\) on \(I\)

_images/concave_max.png

Fig. 18 Maximizer of a concave function#

_images/convex_min.png

Fig. 19 Minimizer of a convex function#

Example: unconstrained maximization of quadratic utility

\[ u(x_1, x_2) = - (x_1 - b_1)^2 - (x_2 - b_2)^2 \rightarrow \max_{x_1, x_2} \]

Intuitively the solution is \(x_1^*=b_1\) and \(x_2^*=b_2\)

Analysis above leads to the same conclusion

First letโ€™s check first order conditions (F.O.C.)

\[ \frac{\partial}{\partial x_1} u(x_1, x_2) = -2 (x_1 - b_1) = 0 \quad \implies \quad x_1 = b_1 \]
\[ \frac{\partial}{\partial x_2} u(x_1, x_2) = -2 (x_2 - b_2) = 0 \quad \implies \quad x_2 = b_2 \]

How about (strict) concavity?

Sufficient condition is

  1. \(u_{11}(x_1, x_2) < 0\)

  2. \(u_{11}(x_1, x_2)u_{22}(x_1, x_2) > u_{12}(x_1, x_2)^2\)

We have

  • \(u_{11}(x_1, x_2) = -2\)

  • \(u_{11}(x_1, x_2)u_{22}(x_1, x_2) = 4 > 0 = u_{12}(x_1, x_2)^2\)

Example: Profit maximization with two inputs

\[ \pi(k, \ell) = p k^{\alpha} \ell^{\beta} - w \ell - r k \rightarrow \max_{k, \ell} \]

where \( \alpha, \beta, p, w\) are all positive and \(\alpha + \beta < 1\)

Derivatives:

  • \(\pi_1(k, \ell) = p \alpha k^{\alpha-1} \ell^{\beta} - r\)

  • \(\pi_2(k, \ell) = p \beta k^{\alpha} \ell^{\beta-1} - w\)

  • \(\pi_{11}(k, \ell) = p \alpha(\alpha-1) k^{\alpha-2} \ell^{\beta}\)

  • \(\pi_{22}(k, \ell) = p \beta(\beta-1) k^{\alpha} \ell^{\beta-2}\)

  • \(\pi_{12}(k, \ell) = p \alpha \beta k^{\alpha-1} \ell^{\beta-1}\)

First order conditions: set

\[\begin{split} \pi_1(k, \ell) = 0 \\ \pi_2(k, \ell) = 0 \end{split}\]

and solve simultaneously for \(k, \ell\) to get

\[\begin{split} k^* = \left[ p (\alpha/r)^{1 - \beta} (\beta/w)^{\beta} \right]^{1 / (1 - \alpha - \beta)} \\ \ell^* = \left[ p (\beta/w)^{1 - \alpha} (\alpha/r)^{\alpha} \right]^{1 / (1 - \alpha - \beta)} \end{split}\]

Exercise: Verify

Now we check second order conditions, hoping for strict concavity

What we need: for any \(k, \ell > 0\)

  1. \(\pi_{11}(k, \ell) < 0\)

  2. \(\pi_{11}(k, \ell) \, \pi_{22}(k, \ell) > \pi_{12}(k, \ell)^2\)

Exercise: Show both inequalities satisfied when \(\alpha + \beta < 1\)

_images/optprod.png

Fig. 20 Profit function when \(p=5\), \(r=w=2\), \(\alpha=0.4\), \(\beta=0.5\)#

_images/optprod_contour.png

Fig. 21 Optimal choice, \(p=5\), \(r=w=2\), \(\alpha=0.4\), \(\beta=0.5\)#

References and further reading#

References