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Plague and prejudice: disease, discrimination, and social exclusion

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  • Javier A. Birchenall

    (University of California, Santa Barbara)

Abstract

I study the social regulation of disease in a search-theoretic economy where health is uncertain and imperfectly observed, and exchange carries the risk of contagion. Traders confront a signal-extraction problem and the equilibrium features a “better safe than sorry” strategy where disease and fear of contagion trigger false alarms, limit the extent of the market, and foster social exclusion. Society’s tolerance toward a disease depends on its danger and visibility. Using these characteristics, I interpret the regulation of the major epidemics in the West (leprosy, plague, smallpox, and cholera) to illustrate how societal anxieties surrounding epidemics fueled prejudice and exclusion.

Suggested Citation

  • Javier A. Birchenall, 2025. "Plague and prejudice: disease, discrimination, and social exclusion," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 80(1), pages 381-415, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joecth:v:80:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s00199-025-01635-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s00199-025-01635-7
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D80 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - General
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • N10 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - General, International, or Comparative

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