Stock Market Crashes

Abstract

This chapter offers a historical overview of significant stock market crashes. It delineates the build-up of a bubble and outlines the general characteristics of a crash. It presents historical crashes with a regional and a global impact. Among the former are the tulip mania, the South Sea bubble, the railway mania, the Souk Al-Manak crash, the Dubai real estate bubble, the Greek crisis and the flash crash of May 6, 2010, on the New York Stock Exchange. The latter include the Great Crash of 1929, the Asian financial crisis, the Russian financial crisis, the dotcom bubble and the subprime crisis. The chapter closes with a study case on the Chinese stock exchange and real estate market.