Business Mathematics (BQT 133/3)

This text is targeted at high school seniors who plan to enter business, science, and technology related fields, and working professionals seeking to enhance their knowledge on various math topics including probability and optimization methods. This book begins with the basic mathematical operations and ends with advanced and yet practical examples. Contains many real-world examples supplemented with computer applications. It is ideal for self-study.

This book takes a distinctly applied approach to finite mathematics at the freshman and sophomore level. It features many commercial applications, including linear programming, the theory of games, and financial mathematics

Many optimization questions arise in economics and finance; an important example of this is the societys choice of the optimum state of the economy (the social choice problem). Optimization in Economics and Finance extends and improves the usual optimization techniques, in a form that may be adopted for modeling social choice problems. Problems discussed include: when is an optimum reached; when is it unique; relaxation of the conventional convex (or concave) assumptions on an economic model; associated mathematical concepts such as invex and quasimax; multiobjective optimal control models; and related computational methods and programs. These techniques are applied to economic growth models (including small stochastic perturbations), finance and financial investment models (and the interaction between financial and production variables), modeling sustainability over long time horizons, boundary (transversality) conditions, and models with several conflicting objectives. Although the applications are general and illustrative, the models in this book provide examples of possible models for a societys social choice for an allocation that maximizes welfare and utilization of resources. As well as using existing computer programs for optimization of models, a new computer program, named SCOM, is presented in this book for computing social choice models by optimal control.

Based on over 15 years experience in the design and delivery of successful first-year courses, this book equips undergraduates with the mathematical skills required for degree courses in economics, finance, management and business studies. The book starts with a summary of basic skills and takes its readers as far as constrained optimisation helping them to become confident and competent in the use of mathematical tools and techniques that can be applied to a range of problems in economics and finance. Designed as both a course text and a handbook, the book assumes little prior mathematical knowledge beyond elementary algebra and is therefore suitable for students returning to mathematics after a long break. The fundamental ideas are described in the simplest mathematical terms, highlighting threads of common mathematical theory in the various topics.

With the Bologna Accords a bachelor-master-doctor curriculum has been introduced in various countries with the intention that students may enter the job market already at the bachelor level. Since financial Institutions provide non negligible job opportunities also for mathematicians, and scientists in general, it appeared to be appropriate to have a financial mathematics course already at the bachelor level in mathematics. Most mathematical techniques in use in financial mathematics are related to continuous time models and require thus notions from stochastic analysis that bachelor students do in general not possess. Basic notions and methodologies in use in financial mathematics can however be transmitted to students also without the technicalities from stochastic analysis by using discrete time (multi-period) models for which general notions from Probability suffice and these are generally familiar to students not only from science courses, but also from economics with quantitative curricula. There do not exists many textbooks for multi-period models and the present volume is intended to fill in this gap. It deals with the basic topics in financial mathematics and, for each topic, there is a theoretical section and a problem section. The latter includes a great variety of possible problems with complete solution.