Introduction

The Republic of Nairu is the third smallest nation in the world, behind Monaco and Vatican City. The country went from rags to riches, only to go back to somehow being worse than it started before it struck it rich. This tiny Pacific island nation is perhaps the best single-case study of what can go wrong. It's one of the rare times in history that we have been able to clearly explore the economic mechanisms that drive booms and busts on such a clear scale.