This article deals with the evolution of the Italian economy in the last part of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century with particular emphasis on money and banking. It also deals with the problem of the huge Italian public debt. In this context it examines the...

Although the British Railway Mania has been described as one of the greatest bubbles in history, it has been largely neglected by academics. This paper attempts to redress this neglect by creating a daily stock price index for the 1843-50 period and by assessing the contribution of the many...

Historical ‘bubbles’ are often attributed to mispricing, but the empirical analysis of such episodes has been limited. This paper examines a notable but academically neglected period, known as the British Railway Mania, using a new dataset and a cross-sectional methodology which is unique to...

During the British Railway Mania of the 1840s the promotion and construction of new railways increased dramatically. These new projects were generally financed by shares with uncalled capital, which allowed investors to make payments on an instalment basis over a period of several years. There...

Historical ‘bubbles’ are often attributed to mispricing, but the empirical analysis of such episodes has been limited. This paper examines a notable but academically neglected period, known as the British Railway Mania, using a new dataset and a cross-sectional methodology which is unique to...

This paper analyses the relationship between leverage and asset price ‘bubbles’ by examining an historical episode known as the British Railway Mania. During this period there was a substantial expansion in the number of railways promoted, most of which were financed by shares which could be...

Although historical asset price ‘bubbles’ are often attributed to irrationality, the empirical analysis of such episodes has been limited. This paper examines a period known as the British Railway Mania, using a new dataset and a cross-sectional methodology which is unique to the study of...

This paper analyses the relationship between leverage and asset price bubbles. During an important historical bubble there was a substantial expansion in the number of railways promoted, most of which were financed by shares which could be purchased on an instalment basis. An analysis of a new...

Although historical asset price ‘bubbles’ are often attributed to irrationality, the empirical analysis of such episodes has been limited. The results presented in this paper suggest that during an historical price reversal, investors successfully incorporated forecasts of short-term...

The French Mississippi Bubble, British South Sea Bubble and Dutch Windhandel were part of a 1719-20 pan-European equity boom that involved many more countries than hitherto thought. Drawing on extensive archival research, the paper establishes that speculation and stock euphoria spanned from...