The programme committee was formed by Eugene White (Rutgers University) and Hans-Joachiim Voth (ICREA, UPF, CREI and CEPR). The conference focusedson asset price bubbles - why they occur, what effects they have, and what can be done to avoid their appearance in the first place. These topics are of particular importance given the fallout from the NASDAQ bubble in the 1990s, and the dangers produced by housing bubbles everywhere around the globe today.

We brought together finance specialists, economic historians, and macroeconomists to examine these issues.