Abstract

D’Maris Coffman will offer the case study of the Dutch Tulip Mania (1633-1637) as an accessible way of understanding toxic financial derivatives, of discussing the perils of badly (or insufficiently) regulated emerging markets, and of assessing the risks of “contagion” to the real economy.

Come and learn about the emblematic financial crisis of the Dutch Golden Age, while acquiring the vocabulary and the tools to make sense of the bewildering and often frightening financial news of today…

Dr Coffman received her MA and PhD in History from the University of Pennsylvania and her BSc in Economics from the Wharton School. She works on Stuart and Hanoverian public finance, political culture and economic thought. As a temporary lecturer at Penn in 2007-2008, she taught courses in early modern public finance, economic thought from Smith to Marx, and the development of financial capitalism.