Numerical optimization of recursive systems of equations with an application to optimal swine genetic selection

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1999
Authors
Hawkins, Richard
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Jack C. M. Dekkers
James B. Kliebenstein
Wolfgang Kliemann
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Economics

The Department of Economic Science was founded in 1898 to teach economic theory as a truth of industrial life, and was very much concerned with applying economics to business and industry, particularly agriculture. Between 1910 and 1967 it showed the growing influence of other social studies, such as sociology, history, and political science. Today it encompasses the majors of Agricultural Business (preparing for agricultural finance and management), Business Economics, and Economics (for advanced studies in business or economics or for careers in financing, management, insurance, etc).

History
The Department of Economic Science was founded in 1898 under the Division of Industrial Science (later College of Liberal Arts and Sciences); it became co-directed by the Division of Agriculture in 1919. In 1910 it became the Department of Economics and Political Science. In 1913 it became the Department of Applied Economics and Social Science; in 1924 it became the Department of Economics, History, and Sociology; in 1931 it became the Department of Economics and Sociology. In 1967 it became the Department of Economics, and in 2007 it became co-directed by the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Business.

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1898–present

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  • Department of Economic Science (1898–1910)
  • Department of Economics and Political Science (1910-1913)
  • Department of Applied Economics and Social Science (1913–1924)
  • Department of Economics, History and Sociology (1924–1931)
  • Department of Economics and Sociology (1931–1967)

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Economics
Abstract

A new dynamic programming method is developed for numerical optimization of recursive systems of equations, in which continuous choice variables determine the allowed choices in subsequent stages of the problem. The method works by dynamically creating bubbles, or subspaces, of the total search space, allowing the indexing of states visited for later use, and taking advantage of the fact that states adjacent to a visited state are likely to be visited. The method thereby allows search of spaces far larger than would traditionally be permitted by memory limitations. The search allows an infinite planning horizon, and tests at each stage to determine whether further optimization is worth the costs, reverting to a default choice when no longer profitable. The method is applied to the quantitative genetics problem of finding the optimal selection choices for quantitative traits using an identified locus, using the present discounted value of all generations. The method is then applied to the Estrogen Receptor Gene (ESR) to find the economic value of testing for this particular gene.

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Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 1999