Speculation, Trading, and Bubbles - Hardcover

by José a. Scheinkman (Author), Kenneth Arrow (With), Patrick Bolton (With)

As long as there have been financial markets, there have been bubbles--those moments in which asset prices inflate far beyond their intrinsic value, often with ruinous results. Yet economists are slow to agree on the underlying forces behind these events. In this book José A. Scheinkman offers new insight into the mystery of bubbles. Noting some general characteristics of bubbles--such as the rise in trading volume and the coincidence between increases in supply and bubble implosions--Scheinkman offers a model, based on differences in beliefs among investors, that explains these observations.

Other top economists also offer their own thoughts on the issue: Sanford J. Grossman and Patrick Bolton expand on Scheinkman's discussion by looking at factors that contribute to bubbles--such as excessive leverage, overconfidence, mania, and panic in speculative markets--and Kenneth J. Arrow and Joseph E. Stiglitz contextualize Scheinkman's findings.

Author Biography

José A. Scheinkman is the Edwin W. Rickert Professor of Economics at Columbia University and the Theodore Wells '29 Professor of Economics Emeritus at Princeton University. He is best known for his work on dynamic optimization, oligopoly theory, nonlinear dynamics, social interactions, and bubbles in financial markets. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the Econometric Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Sandford J. Grossman is an American economist and hedge fund manager specializing in quantitative finance. He has published widely in leading economic and business journals, including American Economic Review, Journal of Econometrics, Econometrica, and Journal of Finance, and is chairman and CEO of QFS Asset Management.

Patrick Bolton is the Barbara and David Zalaznick Professor of Business at Columbia Business School and a member of the Committee on Global Thought. He is also codirector of the Center for Contracts and Economic Organization at the Columbia Law School. His areas of interest are corporate finance, banking, sovereign debt, political economy, and law and economics.