The public debate about same-sex marriage has raised some really interesting questions about the nature and rationale of marriage. Marriage is an institution which we observe across space and time, but why do we have marriage and why has it been so prevalent across societies? Marriage in the West has been eroded over the past number of decades and many see the extension of the marriage franchise to same-sex couples as a further weakening of the institution. Unfortunately, much of the debate on this issue is being stifled and sometimes there is more heat than light. However, I recently came across a really good debate on Piers Morgan's CNN show, which featured Ryan Anderson of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in the United States.
My colleague and former PhD student Gareth Campbell has created a website about the British Railway Mania - click here . This episode has been described by the Economist as probably the greatest bubble in human history. Gareth's website provides background on the Mania and posits some explanations for the 'bubble'. In his explanation of why the bubble happened, Gareth places a lot of emphasis on investor myopia regarding future dividends and uncalled capital. His study of investors during the episode does not support the view that this episode was fuelled by naive and irrational investors.