The Plague, what was the economic impact - Admission/Application Essay Example

Economic impact of plague In the past centuries, plague was a deadly disease that people were not willing to be associated with. As a result, when it erupted people used different strategies to avoid being infected by this disease. Some people vacated the cities, killed the infected persons or even alienated those who were infected with the disease. Despite all these measures, the disease had an economic impact both to the people, society and country at large (Smith 2006).One of the major effects was collapsing of the economy which was caused by vacation of people from their residential areas and depopulation that was caused by deaths of people that were infected.

This was mainly led by the rise of laborers wage, increase in agricultural prices as the number of farmers decreased tremendously, and lowering of renting rates, which reduced government revenues. The government had a rough time in trying to balance the little revenue that it obtained to satisfy the interest of the population. This situation was even aggravated further as some citizens migrated to other areas in search for better living conditions (Aberth, 2011, p.60).Plague reduced economic growth of the countries and empires.

People who were infected with this disease needed special care. As a result, family members have to stop offering their labor and look after their kin members. As a result labor, force was reduced. This had an impact on government operations as the government was unable to provide the necessary services to its population.Plague caused inflation. Affected populations were unable to work as their bodies became weak to undertake any chore. As a result, the overall local production of the people reduced, and government has to supply them with basic necessities.

This resulted to deficit as the burden to support its population increased than the benefits it accrued from the citizens.Plague infestation in different areas especially in Europe caused the collapse of trade. This was caused by low production as main attention was taken to taking care of the sick people. Death of large population people especially the energetic population caused trade imbalance as the imports outdone the exports. This led to collapse of different economies in central Asia (Smith 2006, P. 21).Plague reduced government and empires attention towards economic growth as they were keenly looking for a lasting solution to the problem.

This caused economic staggering as major economic activities such as infrastructural development came to a standstill. Various governments put different measures to prevent the spread of the disease to their territory. Some of these measures included imposition of trade tariffs and price controls to prevent business people from purchasing goods from regions infested with plague challenge (Aberth 2011, p. 57). As a result, the governments suffered deficits and some of them fell deep in depts. This resulted from borrowing of cash from their neighbors to sustain their ailing economy.

On a positive note, the plague led to eradication of cheap labor as a result of depopulation. The landlords who were initially paying their workers poorly started competing for the little available labor force through good wages and offering their employees with freedoms. In general, the plague and its repercussions caused the improved living standards of the peasants who were for a long time neglected and mistreated (Aberth 2011, p. 59). Laborers gained more power to demand and negotiate their wages as there was a shortage of employees.

Another positive aspect was that more fertile land became available for the poor peasants who utilized the land to improve their living conditions.ReferencesAberth, John. Plagues in World History. Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. Print.Smith, Taylor. The Global Impact of the Black Death. GRIN Verlag, 2006. Print.