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American Economic Review Vol. 84 No. 3 1994

Business as Usual, Market Crashes, and Wisdom After the Fact

Andrew Caplin; John Leahy

Abstract

We present a three-stage model of market dynamics. In the first stage, routine behavior tends to keep information of common interest trapped in private hands. In the second stage, private information reaches a threshold that triggers some agents to alter their behavior; these actions release information to the market. The final stage involves the market's response to this news as other participants react to the initial departure from routine behavior. We present an application to industry investment. We also outline applications to the international debt crisis, to bank runs, and to political upheavals.

Volume
84
Issue
3
Pages
548-565
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib

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