Context: Though there is no doubt that the demographic crisis of the 14th century caused a dramatic fall in production and commerce in absolute terms, there has been a vigorous historical debate over whether the decline was greater than the fall in population. While the older orthodoxy held that the artistic output of the Renaissance was a result of greater opulence, more recent studies have suggested that there might have been a so-called 'depression of the Renaissance'. In spite of convincing arguments for the case, the statistical evidence is simply too incomplete for a definite conclusion to be made.

Question: What caused the decrease in commerce and production in the 14th century?
Answer: demographic crisis

Question: What is the alternative to the theory that the Renaissance was a time of great opulence?
Answer: depression of the Renaissance

Question: What type of evidence is too incomplete for a decision to be made between the two theories of the Renaissance?
Answer: statistical

Question: What is posited as the cause of increased artistic output during the Renaissance?
Answer: greater opulence

Question: What caused the increase in commerce and production in the 14th century?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: What is the alternative to the theory that the Renaissance wasn't a time of great opulence?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: What is the alternative to the theory that the Renaissance was a time of no opulence?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: What type of evidence is too complete for a decision to be made between the two theories of the Renaissance?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: What is posited as the cause of decreased artistic output during the Renaissance?
Answer: Unanswerable