Below is a short video where Angus Deaton talks about his new book: The Great Escape: Health, Wealth and Inequality. In this book, Deaton looks at why, about 250 years ago, gaps opened up between nations in terms of their wealth and health. He also looks at why those gaps persisted and what can be done to improve the well-being of all nations.
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.