Pandemic shock and economic divergence: political economy before and after the black death

Bosshart, Luis Salomon ORCID: 0000-0002-9971-5940 and Dittmar, Jeremiah Edward ORCID: 0000-0002-3930-4496 (2021) Pandemic shock and economic divergence: political economy before and after the black death. CEP Discussion Papers (CEPDP1805). London School of Economics and Political Science. Centre for Economic Performance, London, UK.

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Abstract

We document how the Black Death activated politics and led to economic divergence within Europe. Before the pandemic, economic development was similar in Eastern and Western German cities despite greater political fragmentation in the West. The pandemic precipitated a divergence that coincided with prior differences in politics. After the pandemic, construction and manufacturing fell by 1/3 in the East relative to underlying trends and the Western path. Politics institutionalizing local self-government advanced in the West, but not in the East. This divergence is observed across otherwise similar cities along historic borders and foreshadows a subsequent divergence in agriculture.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	https://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/publications/discussion...
Additional Information:	© 2021 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Economics
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
JEL classification:	N - Economic History > N1 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Growth and Fluctuations > N13 - Europe: Pre-1913 N - Economic History > N1 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Growth and Fluctuations > N14 - Europe: 1913- N - Economic History > N6 - Manufacturing and Construction > N60 - General, International, or Comparative N - Economic History > N9 - Regional and Urban History > N93 - Europe: Pre-1913 O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O10 - General O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O18 - Regional, Urban, and Rural Analyses O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity > O40 - General P - Economic Systems > P4 - Other Economic Systems > P48 - Political Economy; Legal Institutions; Property Rights
Date Deposited:	28 Feb 2022 11:51
Last Modified:	01 Oct 2024 04:04
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/113853

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