Encyclopedia of Operations Research and Management Science

2001 Edition

Economics and operations research

  • Frederic H. Murphy
Reference work entry
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-0611-X_270
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INTRODUCTION

To understand the relationship between Economics, and operations research economics and operations research, we need to understand some of the history of both fields. Operations research was developed prior to and during World War II with the pragmatic goal of improving military operations through the use of mathematics. The founders of the field of operations research came from diverse backgrounds, including physics, mathematics, engineering and economics. Operations research as a field has tried to maintain its multidisciplinary character.

The textbooks on the subject contain a common set of techniques: stochastic modeling, simulation, optimization, and game theory. Operations research emphasizes certain application areas such as operations management and encompasses some, such as inventory management. Mainly, operations research provides tools to analyze the operations of and assist in decision making in organizations.

Economics as a subject has been explored and...

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Copyright information

© Kluwer Academic Publishers 2001

Authors and Affiliations

  • Frederic H. Murphy
    • 1
  1. 1.Temple UniversityPhiladelphiaUSA