A beginner’s guide to stochastic growth modeling The chief advantage of stochastic growth models over deterministic models is that they combine both deterministic and stochastic elements of dynamic behaviors, such as weather, natural disasters, market fluctuations, and epidemics. This makes stochastic modeling a powerful tool in the hands of practitioners in fields for which population growth is a critical determinant of outcomes. However, the background requirements for studying SDEs can be daunting for those who lack the rigorous course of study received by math majors. Designed to be accessible to readers who have had only a few courses in calculus and statistics, this book offers a comprehensive review of the mathematical essentials needed to understand and apply stochastic growth models. In addition, the book describes deterministic and stochastic applications of population growth models including logistic, generalized logistic, Gompertz, negative exponential, and linear. Ideal for students and professionals in an array of fields including economics, population studies, environmental sciences, epidemiology, engineering, finance, and the biological sciences, Stochastic Differential Equations: An Introduction with Applications in Population Dynamics Modeling: • Provides precise definitions of many important terms and concepts and provides many solved example problems • Highlights the interpretation of results and does not rely on a theorem-proof approach • Features comprehensive chapters addressing any background deficiencies readers may have and offers a comprehensive review for those who need a mathematics refresher • Emphasizes solution techniques for SDEs and their practical application to the development of stochastic population models An indispensable resource for students and practitioners with limited exposure to mathematics and statistics, Stochastic Differential Equations: An Introduction with Applications in Population Dynamics Modeling is an excellent fit for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students, as well as practitioners who need a gentle introduction to SDEs. Michael J. Panik, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Economics, Barney School of Business and Public Administration at the University of Hartford in Connecticut. He received his PhD in Economics from Boston College and is a member of the American Mathematical Society, The American Statistical Association, and The Econometric Society.

Three coherent parts form the material covered in this text, portions of which have not been widely covered in traditional textbooks. In this coverage the reader is quickly introduced to several different topics enriched with 175 exercises which focus on real-world problems. Exercises range from the classics of probability theory to more exotic research-oriented problems based on numerical simulations. Intended for graduate students in mathematics and applied sciences, the text provides the tools and training needed to write and use programs for research purposes. The first part of the text begins with a brief review of measure theory and revisits the main concepts of probability theory, from random variables to the standard limit theorems. The second part covers traditional material on stochastic processes, including martingales, discrete-time Markov chains, Poisson processes, and continuous-time Markov chains. The theory developed is illustrated by a variety of examples surrounding applications such as the gambler’s ruin chain, branching processes, symmetric random walks, and queueing systems. The third, more research-oriented part of the text, discusses special stochastic processes of interest in physics, biology, and sociology. Additional emphasis is placed on minimal models that have been used historically to develop new mathematical techniques in the field of stochastic processes: the logistic growth process, the Wright –Fisher model, Kingman’s coalescent, percolation models, the contact process, and the voter model. Further treatment of the material explains how these special processes are connected to each other from a modeling perspective as well as their simulation capabilities in C and MatlabTM.

The purpose of this paper is to report on a comparison of several alternative numerical solution techniques for nonlinear rational expectations models. The comparison was made by asking individual researchers to apply their different solution techniques to a simple representative agent, optimal, stochastic growth model. Decision rules as well as simulated time series are compared. The differences among the methods turned out to be quite substantial for certain aspects of the growth model. Therefore, researchers might want to be careful not to rely blindly on the results of any chosen numerical solution method in applied work.