Financial Markets can go mad : Evidence of irrational behaviour during the South Sea Bubble
Dale, R.S., Johnson, J.E.V. and Tang, L. (2005) Financial Markets can go mad : Evidence of irrational behaviour during the South Sea Bubble. The Economic History Review, 58, (2), 233-271. (doi:10.1111/j.1468-0289.2005.00304.x).
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Description/Abstract
This paper explores investor behaviour during the South Sea Bubble—the first major speculative boom and bust on the stock markets. Previous literature debates whether investors during this episode acted rationally. Newly acquired data involving parallel markets for the South Sea Company's stock and subscription receipts are analysed, and widening valuation gaps are observed between these substitutable financial instruments. Rational explanations do not prove adequate, and the anomalies are explained by the biased decision-making of investors, and their tendency to view financial markets as wagering markets. The implications of these findings for the current debate on rationality in financial markets are identified.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| ISSNs: | 0013-0117 (print) |
| Related URLs: | |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HG Finance H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management |
| Divisions: | University Structure - Pre August 2011 > School of Management |
| Item ID: | 35855 |
| Date Deposited: | 22 May 2006 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Jun 2011 06:46 |
| Contributors: | Dale, R.S. (Author) Johnson, J.E.V. (Author) Tang, L. (Author) |
| Date: | 2005 |
| Status: | Published |
| Contact Email Address: | R.S.Dale@soton.ac.uk |
| URI: | http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/35855 |
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