The (Uneven) Spatial Distribution of the Bakken Oil Boom

Abstract

Resulting from a booming shale-energy sector, from 2007 to 2014, real income per capita in North Dakota increased 40%. Does this reect the experience of a few oil-rich counties, or were the gains more evenly distributed across the region? We nd that the shale boom generated signicant economic gains for counties above and near the Bakken, but not for those further away. We also document signicant state-border eects which are not easily explained. Conditional on distance to the Bakken region, the shale boom generated limited outward migration from South Dakota and, perhaps as a result, the economic gains that accrued there were muted.

Geography, Geology, and Regional Economic Development

“…But real wages are also important; positive labor demand shocks attract people from near and far away. This feature of human behavior is well documented in economics literature and is especially salient in resource-based development literature which affirms a robust relationship between natural-resource shocks, labor demand, and inward migration (Jacobsen and Parker, 2016;Alcott and Keniston, 2017;Feyrer, Mansur and Sacerdote, 2017;Richter, Salanguit and James, 2018;James and Smith, 2019). But this literature has overlooked the joint role of economic shocks and environmental amenity.…”

Who Wins in an Energy Boom? Evidence From Wage Rates and Housing

“…Finally, I examine whether the results are driven by the Bakken region, where the effects of the boom were particularly profound (Richter, Salanguit, and James ). To do so, I exclude the two booming NMAs that overlay the Bakken from the analysis.…”

“…These data are recorded in shape files available at: www.eia.gov/maps/map_data/TightOil_ShaleGas_Plays_ Lower48_EIA.zip. of the boom were particularly profound (Richter, Salanguit, and James 2018). To do so, I exclude the two booming NMAs that overlay the Bakken from the analysis.…”

Does Oil Dependence Affect Regional Wealth? A Regional Study for the Municipalities of the State of Rio De Janeiro

“…Allcott and Keniston (2017) have founded similar results, adding that the benefits are cyclical with the oil and gas boom and bust. In a more restrict sample, Richter et al, (2018) analyzed the counties of the North and South Dakota; they found that the shale oil and gas production increased the income, and diminished the unemployment and the poverty of both the local economies and of the entire region considering a ratio of 200 miles from the producing counties of North Dakota.…”