Toward a Metatheory of Economic Bubbles: Socio-Political and Cultural Perspectives

Dholakia and Turcan present their interdisciplinary metatheory of bubbles with short case studies of minor and major bubbles. They comprehensively identify and exemplify constructs of the theory, set its temporal and contextual boundaries, and examine the underlying economic, psychological, and social dynamics assumptions, explaining how these elements are related. By doing so, they provide a partial window into the precarious nature of contemporary finance-driven capitalism and suggest some possible ways of overcoming the wrenching ups and downs of the prevalent system.

The case studies and original research in Toward a Metatheory of Economic Bubbles have far-reaching implications for the study and practice of entrepreneurship and marketing, public and corporate finance, and public policies towards innovation, economy, and finance. It contributes to the defining issues for economic sociology that describe the relationship between the economic and the social.