Hahn's problem (or Hahn's question) refers to the theoretical challenge of building

general equilibrium In economics, general equilibrium theory attempts to explain the behavior of supply, demand, and prices in a whole economy with several or many interacting markets, by seeking to prove that the interaction of demand and supply will result in an ov ...

models where money does not enter preferences, yet has a positive equilibrium value. Money, since it is intrinsically worthless and is not demanded for its own sake, may not be made to enter the utility function and be present like any other good. The problem is named after the British economist

Frank Hahn Frank Horace Hahn FBA (26 April 1925 – 29 January 2013) was a British economist whose work focused on general equilibrium theory, monetary theory, Keynesian economics and critique of monetarism. A famous problem of economic theory, the condi ...

, who outlined it in his critique of

Don Patinkin Don Patinkin (Hebrew: דן פטינקין) (January 8, 1922 – August 7, 1995) was an American-born Israeli monetary economist, and the President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.Nissan Liviatan, 2008. "Patinkin, Don (1922–1995)," ''The N ...

's placing money inside the utility function.

References

General equilibrium theory Economic puzzles {{Econ-stub, date=September 2021