Mean field social optimization: feedback person-by-person optimality and the dynamic programming equation

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Huang, Minyi, Sheu, Shuenn-Jyi, Sun, Li-Hsien
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Huang, Minyi
Sheu, Shuenn-Jyi
Sun, Li-Hsien
author_facet Huang, Minyi
Sheu, Shuenn-Jyi
Sun, Li-Hsien
contents We consider mean field social optimization in nonlinear diffusion models. By dynamic programming with a representative agent employing cooperative optimizer selection, we derive a new Hamilton--Jacobi--Bellman (HJB) equation to be called the master equation of the value function. Under some regularity conditions, we establish $ε$-person-by-person optimality of the master equation-based control laws, which may be viewed as a necessary condition for nearly attaining the social optimum. A major challenge in the analysis is to obtain tight estimates, within an error of $O(1/N)$, of the social cost having order $O(N)$. This will be accomplished by multi-scale analysis via constructing two auxiliary master equations. We illustrate explicit solutions of the master equations for the linear-quadratic (LQ) case, and give an application to systemic risk.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_14236
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Mean field social optimization: feedback person-by-person optimality and the dynamic programming equation
Huang, Minyi
Sheu, Shuenn-Jyi
Sun, Li-Hsien
Optimization and Control
49L20, 49N80, 93A15, 93E20
We consider mean field social optimization in nonlinear diffusion models. By dynamic programming with a representative agent employing cooperative optimizer selection, we derive a new Hamilton--Jacobi--Bellman (HJB) equation to be called the master equation of the value function. Under some regularity conditions, we establish $ε$-person-by-person optimality of the master equation-based control laws, which may be viewed as a necessary condition for nearly attaining the social optimum. A major challenge in the analysis is to obtain tight estimates, within an error of $O(1/N)$, of the social cost having order $O(N)$. This will be accomplished by multi-scale analysis via constructing two auxiliary master equations. We illustrate explicit solutions of the master equations for the linear-quadratic (LQ) case, and give an application to systemic risk.
title Mean field social optimization: feedback person-by-person optimality and the dynamic programming equation
topic Optimization and Control
49L20, 49N80, 93A15, 93E20
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.14236