Biggest Bankruptcy Ever!: Viewing a Drama Written in Verse about Investment Banking Through the Lens of Behavioral Economics

Abstract

This thesis furthers the growing area of research of examining literature while considering key topics from the fields of economics and business in an effort to increase understanding of literature. By viewing The Lehman Trilogy, a play by Stefano Massini and adapted by Ben Power, through the lens of behavioral economics, insight can be gained to better understand the characters, their economic decision-making processes, and ultimately their humanity. Considering concepts of behavioral economics provides greater acuity into the story. Throughout the play, various characters make decisions along a 164-year timeline from 1844 when the first Lehman brother arrives in New York until September 15, 2008, when the storied global investment bank collapses with more than $600 billion in debt in the largest corporate bankruptcy in history. By drawing subject matter from behavioral economics, primarily from the works of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, detailed in Kahneman’s widely acclaimed Thinking, Fast and Slow, deeper insight can be gained.