A priori bounds for approximations of Markov programs

This note determines a priori bounds for B. L. Fox's J. Math. Anal. Appl., 34 (1971), 665–670] scheme of approximating discounted Markov programs, thus refining bounds recently obtained by D. J. White (Notes in Descision Theory No. 43, University of Manchester, 1977). The approximation scheme focuses careful attention on only a subset of the state space and uses a fixed function to characterize future returns outside the designated subset. The a priori bounds are useful to design the specific approximation, that is, to select the appropriate subset on which the approximation is based.