The Economic Aftermath of Resource Booms: Evidence from Boomtowns in the American West
Event Details
Presenter
Dominic Parker,
Associate Professor, Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Abstract
The current U.S. oil and gas boom is injecting labor, capital, and revenue into communities near reserves. Will these communities be cursed with lower long run incomes in the wake of the boom? We study the oil boom-and-bust cycle of the 1970s and 1980s to gain insights. Using annual data on drilling to identify western boom-and-bust counties, we find substantial positive local employment and income effects during the boom. In the aftermath of the bust, however, we find that incomes per capita decreased and unemployment compensation payments increased relative to what they would have been if the boom had not occurred.
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