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Discussion Paper Details

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Title: The Economic Impact of the Black Death

Author(s): Remi Jedwab, Noel Johnson and Mark Koyama

Publication Date: August 2020

Keyword(s): Black Death, Cities, Demography, institutions, Long-run Growth, Malthusian Theory, Pandemics and Urbanization

Programme Area(s): Economic History

Abstract: The Black Death was the largest demographic shock in European history. We review the evidence for the origins, spread, and mortality of the disease. We document that it was a plausibly exogenous shock to the European economy and trace out its aggregate and local impacts in both the short-run and the long-run. The initial effect of the plague was highly disruptive. Wages and per capita income rose. But, in the long-run, this rise was only sustained in some parts of Europe. The other indirect long-run effects of the Black Death are associated with the growth of Europe relative to the rest of the world, especially Asia and the Middle East (the Great Divergence), a shift in the economic geography of Europe towards the Northwest (the Little Divergence), the demise of serfdom in Western Europe, a decline in the authority of religious institutions, and the emergence of stronger states. Finally, avenues for future research are laid out

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Bibliographic Reference

Jedwab, R, Johnson, N and Koyama, M. 2020. 'The Economic Impact of the Black Death'. London, Centre for Economic Policy Research. https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=15132