As we continue to live with the worldwide fallout of the 2008 economic crisis, we have to wonder whether we have learned anything about business, bubbles, and crises over the centuries. This conference will address the historical consequences of bubbles and crises and their ramifications in terms of human and financial misery and the difficulties caused at national level (e.g., in respect of lower tax revenues and consequent reductions to public goods and services) and to businesses, communities and individuals.
The first bubble was famously that of the ‘Tulip Mania’ of 1636 followed by the crash of early 1637. In the British context, there was also the railway mania of the mid-19th century, and in the context of the United States, the great crash and depression of the 1930s, which had worldwide consequences. More recently we have seen various financial crises and stock market crashes e.g.: the UK in 1987; the 1997 financial crisis in Asia; the 1998 Russian financial crisis; the ‘dot.com’ bubble of the 1990s; the housing/property market bubbles in China, Japan and Australia in the early 2000s; the recent economic crises in Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain.
As we approach the tri-centenary of the British ‘South Sea Bubble’ and the French ‘Mississippi Bubble’, this conference aims to revisit various bubbles and crises around three themes with various sub-questions.:
Bubbles and Crises
What macro forces are at play? Are financial bubbles and crises historically and economically cyclical and inevitable? How do they affect businesses and the economy more widely?
Mayhem and Misery
Are there ever rational bubbles? Who wins? Who loses? What national and international social and economic public policy changes were proposed or made in response to alleviate the consequences? What were the consequences for businesses, communities and individuals?
Corruption and Disruption
Who is to blame? Whom do we blame? What is the relationship between business and individual behaviour and corruption? What were the outcomes from crises in terms of political and economic regulation? Who are the beneficiaries of crises? What can we learn about the persistence and circulation of business elites?
We will particularly welcome papers on businesses’ role and involvement, collectively or individually, in these or related themes, but will also consider papers that sit outside this framework.