With Romney leading the pack for the Republican nomination, it is germane to ask what is his take on the inequality in American society? Romney is part of the 1% - he sees a $360,000 income as peanuts (click here). But more telling is his view that concern about inequality is simply down to envy! This reveals how out of touch he actually is. The United States fought the War of Independence to rid itself of an aristocratic elite. From across the Atlantic, it looks like aristocracy is coming back into vogue.
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.