Optimization Problems in Managing the Processes of Equilibrium Price Formation

The article is dedicated to developing an approach for studying the processes of establishing the equilibrium price in Evans’ market equilibrium model, according to which the main participants in market interactions – that is, the consumer, the producer, and the auctioneer – are considered active economic agents who can pursue their own interests, formulate, and solve corresponding economic problems when setting the market price. It is assumed that the primary actor in the process of forming the equilibrium price in the model is the auctioneer (logistician), who ensures the analysis and solution of these problems by selecting the appropriate auctioneer function and the values of its parameters. The article presents and analyzes various economic-mathematical criteria for managing the processes of forming an equilibrium price (the amount of potential total demand over a certain period, minimizing the time to reach a given final price, maximizing the efficiency of price management processes, etc.) and determines the possibilities of their use in corresponding optimization models. A number of optimization problem formulations for managing price dynamics are proposed, corresponding to different criteria and economic purposes. The control parameters considered are the management period and a value reflecting the auctioneer’s influence on market price formation. Calculations based on hypothetical data were carried out, demonstrating the potential for using the developed models to study the impact of various factors on the processes of optimal price management. Thus, the research conducted allows for expanding the range of directions and tasks in studying the processes of market price formation and offers some elements of the economic-mathematical instruments for their analysis – namely, formulated optimization models. Further development of this subject may be related to the improvement of various aspects (both formal and substantive) of mathematical models aimed at influencing the peculiarities of price dynamics, their systematic construction, and economic-mathematical analysis.