---
title: "Price Theory"
description: "A browsable archive of classic Chicago- and Columbia-style price theory exam and problem-set questions, organized by topic with full source attribution."
url: https://bryancutsinger.com/teaching/price-theory/
---

Course

# Price Theory

A working archive of classic price-theory exam and problem-set questions — the kind of problems that taught generations of economists to think with the tools of the trade.

About

## What this is.

A growing, attribution-preserving collection of price theory problems — 477 so far, drawn from 40 archival sources: Chicago- and Columbia-style preliminary exams and problem sets from the Friedman, Becker, and Stigler era. Each is reproduced verbatim and linked back to its source — primarily Irwin Collier's [Economics in the Rear-view Mirror](https://www.irwincollier.com/). Search for a specific problem below, or browse by topic.

Historical wording is preserved as archival text. Exam-only scaffolding such as point values, time limits, and outer question numbers is omitted here so the material works as a reusable question bank.

Search

## Find a problem.

Search across the full bank, then narrow by topic, source, instructor, year, or exam context. Results appear as you type.

Start typing or pick a filter to search the 477 problems — or browse by topic below.

Topics

## Browse by topic.

Each topic collects the problems tagged to it. A problem touching several topics appears under each.

[129 problems

### Producer theory

production functions, cost curves, firm supply, returns to scale, profit maximization, factor demand, short run long run](https://bryancutsinger.com/teaching/price-theory/producer-theory/)[128 problems

### Factor markets and distribution

labor, wages, rent, marginal productivity, derived demand, minimum wage, unions, human capital](https://bryancutsinger.com/teaching/price-theory/factor-markets-distribution/)[125 problems

### Market structure

perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, entry exit, industrial organization, antitrust](https://bryancutsinger.com/teaching/price-theory/market-structure/)[123 problems

### Applied and miscellaneous

puzzle, methodology, history of thought, monetary, macro adjacent, uncategorized](https://bryancutsinger.com/teaching/price-theory/applied-and-misc/)[116 problems

### Consumer theory

utility, preferences, indifference curves, demand, consumer surplus, index numbers, income substitution effects, revealed preference, elasticity](https://bryancutsinger.com/teaching/price-theory/consumer-theory/)[87 problems

### Government intervention

taxes, subsidies, price controls, quotas, tax incidence, tariffs, regulation](https://bryancutsinger.com/teaching/price-theory/government-intervention/)[67 problems

### Capital and interest

intertemporal choice, investment, discounting, time preference, interest rates, present value](https://bryancutsinger.com/teaching/price-theory/capital-and-interest/)[43 problems

### Welfare and efficiency

pareto efficiency, deadweight loss, surplus analysis, social welfare](https://bryancutsinger.com/teaching/price-theory/welfare-and-efficiency/)[33 problems

### Externalities and property rights

coase, public goods, common property, transaction costs, pollution, law and economics](https://bryancutsinger.com/teaching/price-theory/externalities-property-rights/)[30 problems

### Price discrimination

first degree, second degree, third degree, tying, bundling](https://bryancutsinger.com/teaching/price-theory/price-discrimination/)[14 problems

### Exchange and trade

gains from trade, edgeworth box, comparative advantage, barter](https://bryancutsinger.com/teaching/price-theory/exchange-and-trade/)[14 problems

### Uncertainty and information

risk, insurance, search, asymmetric information, expected utility, moral hazard, adverse selection](https://bryancutsinger.com/teaching/price-theory/uncertainty-and-information/)[14 problems

### General equilibrium

multi market, existence, comparative statics, stability](https://bryancutsinger.com/teaching/price-theory/general-equilibrium/)

## Want these as a problem set, or have one to add?

[Get in touch](https://bryancutsinger.com/contact/)