Beschreibung:
To what extent did outbreaks of bubonic plague disrupt daily economic activity? We estimate the impact of epidemics on regional markets over four centuries – from the Black Death in the 14th th century, until the medieval form of the plague became extinct in the 17 th century. Despite the extreme fatality risk, we find that outbreaks only had a modest impact on trade costs and market integration, as measured by local variations in wheat prices. The results provide quantitative evidence on how the lives versus livelihoods tradeoff was managed through history. They suggest that for the most part, the plague represented only a modest barrier to local trade