a system of equations and Solve[ ]
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg13138] a system of equations and Solve[ ]
- From: Jordan Milev <jgmilev at amherst.edu>
- Date: Mon, 13 Jul 1998 07:41:52 -0400
- Organization: Amherst College
- Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com
I am trying to solve the following problem using Mathematica. Define:
utility := X^a*Y^b
constraint := Income - Px*X - Py*Y
maxutility := utility + lambda*constraint
FOC1 := D[maxutility, X]
FOC2 := D[maxutility, Y]
FOC3 := D[maxutility, lambda]
solutionset := Solve[{FOC1==0, FOC2==0, FOC3==0}, {X, Y, lambda}]
I get a message:
Solve::"tdep":
"The equations appear to involve transcendental functions of the \
variables in an essentially non-algebraic way."
Can anybody help with advice on how to use Mathematica to solve this
system of three equations? The system is solvable by hand in about 3-5
minutes.
Jordan
jgmilev at amherst.edu
(please reply by email)