Bubbles are rare events. When they pop, the consequences can be devastating – but sometimes, hardly anything happens. In this overview, Hans-Joachim Voth surveys the history of bubbles, their origins and consequences – and what can be done to stop their recurrence.

Hans Joachim Voth holds the UBS Professorship of Macroeconomics and Financial Markets at the University of Zurich. His research focuses on economic and financial history, in particular long-run economic growth, the history of sovereign debt, causes and consequences of the Nazi Party’s rise to power, and the economic history of the Industrial Revolution.

The Visiting Professorship of Finance History has been endowed by Metzler Bank and the Edmond de Rothschild Group in 2014 on the occasion of Goethe University’s centennial.