FT Alphaville (John Authers from the annual gathering of the CFA Institute of chartered financial analysts of in Vancouver): What was the greatest wealth-creating film of all time? Titanic might be a popular guess, but the answer, according to Robert Mundell, Columbia University's Nobel laureate economist, is Taxi Driver .

The 1976 classic, directed by Martin Scorsese with Robert De Niro as the bitterly alienated protagonist, gave the world De Niro's catchphrase, "You talking to me?", and introduced a young Jodie Foster. But what does it have to do with the world economy?