Brendan Cosgrove, Colby College

Date of Award

2014

Document Type

Honors Thesis (Open Access)

Department

Colby College. Economics Dept.

Advisor(s)

Sahan Dissanayake

Second Advisor

Daniel LaFave

Abstract

In the United States, the rapid increase in shale gas production has recently stimulated local economies. This paper investigates the regional economic impact of shale gas development. The border of New York and Pennsylvania provides a natural experiment for its economic impact because of the moratorium on fracking in NY and the supportive fracking regulations in PA. Using BLS data from 2001-2013, results show that shale gas development has a statistically significant impact at the industry level, but not across the entire economy. The findings contribute new evidence to the economic benefits and the boom-bust cycle of shale gas extraction.

Keywords

fracking, benefits, economics, impact, New York, Pennsylvannia

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