Optimization of a Multiperiod Resource Allocation Model

In this paper we examine multiperiod resource allocation problems, such as allocating a given marketing budget among T periods. The return functions of each period are assumed to be concave functions of the effective effort variable, which is composed of the expenditures in all previous periods and the present one. Assuming that the effect of an amount spent in period t is decreasing by a fixed rate in successive periods, necessary and sufficient conditions for a non-boundary optimal policy are derived. Under these conditions the optimal policy which maximizes total returns is obtained.