Applications of Distributed Optimal Control in Economics-The Case of Forest Management

Renan Goetz and Angels Xabadia

No E2003/37, Economic Working Papers at Centro de Estudios Andaluces from Centro de Estudios Andaluces

Abstract: This paper presents a theoretical model to find the optimal selective-logging regime of a size-distributed forest. The law of motion of the economic model is governed by a partial differential equation that describes the evolution of the forest stock over time. To find the solution of the resulting distributed optimal control problem, we propose a numerical solution technique known as "Escalator Boxcar Train" used in Biology, for the study of dynamics of physiologically structured populations. The empirical part of the paper determines the optimal selective-logging regime of a size-distributed forest, that is, the selective logging that maximizes the discounted net benefits from timber production of a stand of pinus sylvestris, over an infinite time horizon, and compares the selective logging with the clear-cutting regime.

Keywords: Distributed optimal control; diameter-distributed forest; Escalator Boxcar Train. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C61 Q01 Q23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 41 pages
Date: 2003
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