Elinor Ostrom, the winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics, passed away yesterday. The Indiana University obit is here (hat tip - Graham Brownlow). Ostrom's Nobel Prize lecture is available here. In the video clip below, Ostrom gives a short talk on how humans can use natural resources in a sustainable way.
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.