Seminar Economics (Master, VWL MWP28-33), Summer Term 2022

Boom and Bust Cycles in Financial Markets

  1. 1720 and the Invention of the Bubble: The South Sea Bubble (UK, 1719-1720)
    Quinn, W., & Turner, J. (2020). Boom and Bust: A Global History of Financial Bubbles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Kapitel 1-2.
  2. The Roaring Twenties and the Wall Street Crash (USA, 1920-1931)
    Quinn, W., & Turner, J. (2020). Boom and Bust: A Global History of Financial Bubbles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Kapitel 1, 7.
  3. Blowing Bubbles for Political Purposes: The Japanese Bubble (Japan, 1985-1992)
    Quinn, W., & Turner, J. (2020). Boom and Bust: A Global History of Financial Bubbles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Kapitel 1, 8.
  4. The Dot-Com Bubble (USA, 1995-2001)
    Quinn, W., & Turner, J. (2020). Boom and Bust: A Global History of Financial Bubbles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Kapitel 1, 9.
  5. ‘No more Boom and Bust’: The Subprime Bubble (USA, UK, Ireland, Spain, 2003-2010)
    Quinn, W., & Turner, J. (2020). Boom and Bust: A Global History of Financial Bubbles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Kapitel 1, 10.
  6. Casino Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics: The Chinese Bubbles (China, 2007, 2015)
    Quinn, W., & Turner, J. (2020). Boom and Bust: A Global History of Financial Bubbles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Kapitel 1, 11.

This seminar will be taught in English.  At the beginning of the seminar there will be a lecture. This will include an introduction to the seminar topics. Furthermore, basic techniques on how to conduct academic research and empirical analysis with the help of the software R will be explained. The data necessary for the empirical analysis will be provided by the supervisors. The data evaluation will be carried out in cooperation with the supervisors. The empirical results will then be summarized in a 15-page term paper and presented on the seminar day.  

Organisational Information

  • Supervisors:
    Elissa Iorgulescu (elissa.iorgulescu@wiwi.uni-muenster.de) for Topics 1 and 2,
    Fiona Höllmann (fiona.hoellmann@wiwi.uni-muenster.de) for Topics 3 and 5,
    Alexander Pütz (Alexander.Puetz@wiwi.uni-muenster.de) for Topic 4,
    Christoph Sulewski (c_sule01@uni-muenster.de) for Topic 6.

    With each seminar participant, individual appointments will be made for a first discussion and further supervision of the term paper.

  • The starting point for the seminar is the book “Boom and Bust – A global History of Financial Bubbles“ by William Quinn und John D. Turner.
  • There are twelve seminar slots, which will be assigned according to a first-come-first-served principle. Interested students can register as of now by sending an email to Mrs. Iorgulescu (elissa.iorgulescu@wiwi.uni-muenster.de) indicating two preferred topics. The first to write will be assigned the topic. No more than two students can work on the same topic.
  • The kick-off meeting will take place on Saturday, 9 April 2022 (10:00-13:00), in STA 1 (Am Stadtgraben 9, ground floor). 
  • Each student has to write a term paper on their assigned topic, which should not exceed 15 pages excluding the cover page, bibliography and the appendix (font: Arial/Times New Roman, line spacing: 1.5, revision margin left/right: 2.5cm). Format template:  https://www.wiwi.uni-muenster.de/me/de/studium/seminar-und-abschlussarbeiten.  
  • The deadline for submitting the term paper is Monday, 13 June 2022 (by 16:00) at the Chair’s secretariat or research assistants (Room 102, 103 and 115, Am Stadtgraben 9, first sloor). Please submit a print version and send a digital PDF version to your supervisor.
  • Each participant has to prepare their own term paper as well as their own presentation.
  • The seminar will take place as a block session on Saturday, 2 July 2022 (10:00-15:00) in STA 1 (Am Stadtgraben 9, ground floor). During this session, the students will present and discuss their term papers. Please note that attendance is compulsory.
  • Grading will be based on the written term paper (70%) and the presentation as well as active engagement during the block session (30%). Seminar registration at the examination office must be done during the early registration period in the summer term 2022.
  • For completing this seminar, students can achieve 6 Credits (Master, PO 2012 and 2015).
  • If the current COVID-19 pandemic will not allow us to hold in-person events, we reserve the right to adapt the seminar accordingly.
     

Literature

Please note that a comprehensive literature research is part of the grading of your term paper. In addition to the basic literature, particular attention should be paid to recent articles in relevant English journals.