The Bubonic Plague of 1349, the Wage-to-Rent Ratio, and the English Peasant Family

Abstract

The bubonic plague that swept England in 1349 provides an example of how changes in economic conditions can change norms of social behavior. The death of almost 50 percent of the population altered the returns to labor and land. As the demand for land and the supply of labor declined, rents fell and wages rose. This increased wage-to-rent ratio shifted the structure of the economy from household production to market production. In turn, these changes affected migration, family and community ties, women s labor force participation, family size, inheritance customs, the status of landowning widows, and care for the elderly.