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The mortality impact of cholera in Germany

Author

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  • Kalle Kappner

    (Ludwig Maximilians Universität München)

Abstract

This paper presents the first comprehensive quantitative account of epidemic cholera in 19th-century Germany. Using a new dataset based on archival sources, it documents nearly half a million cholera deaths, along with outbreak timing and population at risk, across 2,685 cities and 852 rural counties within the 1871 German Empire. I document five stylized facts: First, cholera was primarily an urban disease, with city death rates averaging 3.5 times higher than in rural areas. Second, mid-sized cities (1,000-3,000 inhabitants) were the most severely affected. Third, cholera's geographic epicenter focused on the less developed North-East territories (Central Poland), but shifted South-West over time. Fourth, outbreaks spread more rapidly across regions and within cities over time, despite declining overall mortality. Fifth, local epidemics converged in severity across locations but became more spatially clustered over time. Understanding these complex patterns requires analysis of cholera’s interaction with dominant trends of 19th-century Western development, including public health reforms, urbanization, market integration, and political change. While the rich cholera historiography has long recognized these links, it merits greater attention from quantitative social scientists, including economic historians. Datasets like this one are the foundation for that engagement.

Suggested Citation

  • Kalle Kappner, 2025. "The mortality impact of cholera in Germany," Working Papers 0273, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
  • Handle: RePEc:hes:wpaper:0273
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    File URL: https://www.ehes.org/wp/EHES_273.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Amy Marie Campbell & Marie-Fanny Racault & Stephen Goult & Angus Laurenson, 2020. "Cholera Risk: A Machine Learning Approach Applied to Essential Climate Variables," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-24, December.
    2. Raphaël Franck, 2024. "Labor scarcity, technology adoption and innovation: evidence from the cholera pandemics in 19th century France," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 543-583, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Historical Epidemiology; Demography; Mortality Transition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913

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