Irrational Exuberance and the Cinderella Syndrome
Irrational Exuberance and the Cinderella Syndrome / Dr. Mahfi Egilmez Irrational exuberance describes a state of excessive optimism in which investors push the price of an asset far beyond its underlying or intrinsic value, largely ignoring economic and financial fundamentals. The phrase was famously used by then-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan in a 1996 speech (1). It later became closely associated with the dot-com bubble, when valuations of internet and technology companies soared to levels that were difficult to justify by their underlying businesses. Türkiye has experienced episodes that bear similarities to irrational exuberance. One recent example was the extraordinary investor enthusiasm surrounding initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2022 and 2023. Against a backdrop of high inflation and deeply negative real interest rates, large numbers of new investors turned to the stock market. Some newly listed companies saw their share prices rise sharply for days on end, in ...