The Bank of England in their recent Quarterly Bulletin have a great primer on investment banking which should be read by anyone who wants to understand modern finance - click here. The article explains the role played by investment banks, the systemic financial stability issues posed by them, and the role of the regulatory authorities in addressing these systemic stability issues. A video interview with the article's author is below.
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.