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SUMMARY:'The South Sea Bubble of 1720: rational bubble or gambling mania?'
  - Dr Helen Paul (Economics\, University of Southampton)
DTSTART:20110307T170000Z
DTEND:20110307T190000Z
UID:TALK27647@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:D'Maris Coffman
DESCRIPTION:The South Sea Bubble of 1720 is a famous stock market bubble. 
 Traditionally\, it was thought to have been caused by a widespread gamblin
 g or speculative mania. Recent scholarship in economic history has refuted
  this idea. Peter Garber argued that it was in fact a rational bubble. The
 re is evidence to show that there were various rational reasons to invest 
 in the South Sea Company and the stock market in general. Contemporaries v
 ilified stock market activity as jobbing and gambling. Their arguments wer
 e often influenced by concerns about a nouveau riche being created or the 
 presence of minority groups in Exchange Alley. The paper reviews some of t
 he evidence from the slave trade which shows the South Sea Company was not
  uninterested in its trading activities. It also uses insights from behavi
 oural finance to discuss the financial side of the affair.   
LOCATION:Lucia Windsor Room\, Newnham College
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