Teaching
Agriculture and Environment (WS 2003/2004, WS 2005/2006, WS 2007/2008)
- Part I Introduction (Definitions, Questions, Economic concepts, Requirements, Readings)
- Part II Evolution of agriculture Biological factors, Geographical factors, Economic factors, Jared Diamond hypotheses, Evolutionary game theory)
- Part III Traditional agriculture and its impact on the environment (Private market objectives, Profit maximization, Dynamics optimization in forestry, Externalities, public goods and bads of agriculture, Erosion, water pollution, salinity, desertification, deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions and sequestration, habitat and biodiversity, Land use intensity and environment, Non-point source pollution, private property rights, transaction cost, market failure, welfare economics, Pareto optimality, Mathematical representation of private decision making, externality, dynamic optimization
- Part IV Global change and agriculture Global change impacts on agriculture, Climate change and yields, product suitability, pests, costs; Human population effects; Technical changes; Mitigation of global change through agriculture; Theories and evidence (Malthus, demographic transition, technical change in agriculture); Comparative review of assessment methodologies and results
- Part V Agriculture and sustainability Definition and concept, Historical evidence, Food vs. environment, Land use intensity, Dynamics
- Part VI Governmental policies Justification and objectives, Traditional agricultural policies, New environmental policies, Income vs. environment, Review of alternative policy designs, Mathematical representation of policy, Policy analysis
Rather than following one specific textbook this course covers material from different sources. Listed below are some of these sources. Diamond, Jared (1997). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: W.W. Norton. Jürgen W. Weinbull (1996). Evolutionary game theory. London, England: MIT Press. Brouwer, Floor and Straaten, Jan von der (2002). Nature and Agriculture in the European Union: New Perspectives on Policies the Shape the European Countryside.Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Mathematical Programming Using Algebraic Systems (SS 2004, SS 2006)
This course teaches applied mathematical programming and concentrates on the formulation and interpretation of mathematical programs utilizing multiple objective, quadratic, integer, dynamic, and general nonlinear programming.
- The Mathematical Programming Approach
- Linear Programming
- Theory - Matrix Solution, Interpretation, Duality, and Sensitivity
- Formulation and Duality
- Applied Use
- Multiple Objective Programming
- Nonlinear Programming
- Quadratic Programming
- Risk Programming
- Integer Programming
- Model Validation
Text: "Applied Mathematical Programming Using Algebraic Systems" by Bruce A. McCarl and Thomas H. Spreen
Dynamic Optimization (WS 2004/2005, WS 2006/2007)
This courses introduces different methods for dynamic optimization focusing on:
- Calculus of Variation
- Optimal Control
- Dynamic Programming
- Phase Diagrams
- Differential Equations
Text books: Kamien, M.I. and N.L. Schwartz. Dynamic Optimization: The Calculus of Variations and Optimal Control in Economics and Management; Boyce, William E. and Richard C. DiPrima. Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems
Generalized Algebraic Modelling System (SS 2003, SS 2005)
- GAMS (Overview, Capabilities, Applicability, Requirements, Documentation, Resources, Help)
- Basic Modeling with GAMS (Representation of mathematical problems in GAMS
Sets, Data entry, Variables, Equations, Dollar controls, GAMS IDE use, Model types
Model solving, Error detection and correction) - GAMS Output (Standard output, Interpretation, Ordering, Output modification,
Option commands, Report Writing, Put files, - GAMS - More Modeling (Good modeling practices, Calculations, Naming conventions, Small vs. Large, Save - Restart, Infeasible and unbounded models,
Tips and tricks) - Advanced GAMS (Scaling, Memory, Speed, GAMS links to Excel, Shademap, Stata, and Gnuplot, GAMS check)
The European Forest and Agricultural Sector Optimization Model (WS 2006/2007, SS 2008)
- Concept, Structure, Execution of FASOM (Scope, Purpose, Concept, Theories; Data sources and handling; Objective function; Linear approximations; Resource constraints; Resource balance; Forest inventory; Production balance; Markov chains; Crop mix constraints; Resource stock inventories; Emissions balances)
- Analysing Solutions (Diagnosis using GAMSCHK: Analysis, Postopt)
- Using FASOM (Scenario anlysis, Model development)
Text: Schneider U.A., J. Balkovic, S. De Cara, O. Franklin, S. Fritz, P. Havlik, I. Huck, K. Jantke, A.M.I. Kallio, F. Kraxner, A. Moiseyev, M. Obersteiner, C.I. Ramos, C. Schleupner, E. Schmid, D. Schwab, R. Skalsky (2008), The European Forest and Agricultural Sector Optimization Model - EUFASOM, FNU-156, Hamburg University and Centre for Marine and Atmospheric Science, Hamburg. download