Underlying asset and derivatives: the rationality of the South Sea Bubble reviewed

The systematically dualist analysis of speculative bubbles is not sufficient to capture the differences in investors behavior according to whether they operate in the underlying asset market or the derivatives market. This is particularly well evidenced in the South Sea Bubble study. In this article, we show that in spite of the rational pricing of the South Sea Company’s subscription shares as call options, the valuation of the underlying asset, (i.e.) the South Sea Share, did suffer from a confusion regarding future public debt restructuring revenues.