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Concerns about the environmental and ecological consequences of hydraulic fracturing have accompanied the shale boom in developed countries at the forefront of shale exploration and production. These environmental and ecological consequences may be of even greater concern in developing countries with less governance capacity. We present a conceptual framework that specifies several variables that are expected to contribute to sustainable hydraulic fracturing. We use the framework to characterize prospects for sustainable hydraulic fracturing in South Africa and Botswana. The framework and evidence clarifies the institutional capacity and institutional challenges confronting the sub-Saharan African countries as extraction of natural resources using hydraulic fracturing begins in earnest.

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Over the past decade, directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing enabled an unconventional oil and gas extraction (UOGE) boom in many regions of the United States, including parts of Pennsylvania. This revolution has created serious concerns about the capability of existing institutions to govern important societal outcomes associated with UOGE. We present a conceptual framework for assessing key societal outcomes influenced by UOGE governance. In applying this framework to Pennsylvania, we discern certain institutional strengths that have allowed the Commonwealth to reap appreciable short‐term economic growth from rich resource endowments. We also find, however, that several institutional weaknesses have allowed costs externalized to the environment, public health, and community integrity to offset some proportion of those economic benefits. Likewise, we find that governance of UOGE in Pennsylvania has contributed to a bifurcated sociopolitical landscape wherein adversarial coalitions dispute the legitimacy of the industry and its governance.