How The Black Death Increased Worker's Wages: Medieval England's Economic Revolution | IEA Interview

In this IEA interview, Dr Jordan Claridge, Assistant Professor at LSE's Department of Economic History, discusses medieval England's economy with Daniel Freeman, IEA Managing Editor. The conversation explores England in the 13th-15th centuries, examining how the highly commercialized pre-plague economy transformed when the Black Death wiped out approximately 50% of the population.

Dr Claridge details how England shifted from a land-scarce, labor-abundant economy to the opposite after 1348, leading to rising wages, changing agricultural practices, and new opportunities for peasants. The discussion covers medieval market systems, monetization, labor dynamics, and the critical transition from feudal management to leasing arrangements that fostered proto-entrepreneurship.

The interview concludes by examining the crucial but overlooked role of horses in medieval economic development. Dr. Claridge reveals how peasant-driven horse breeding and adoption created significant productivity improvements despite elite skepticism, highlighting how these agricultural advances helped set England on a path toward its later economic transformation.

Get full access to Institute of Economic Affairs | Insider at insider.iea.org.uk/subscribe