IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i11p4437-d1160334.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Employment and Income Effects of Investments Made Using the Act 13 Unconventional Natural Gas Impact Fee in Pennsylvania

Author

Listed:
  • Corey Young

    (Center for Energy Policy and Management, Washington & Jefferson College, Washington, PA 15301, USA)

Abstract

Unconventional natural gas extraction presents numerous opportunities and risks for communities across the United States. To capture a portion of the revenue generated by the resource states tax unconventional natural gas development. While most states collect revenue via severance taxes, Pennsylvania took a novel approach and established an impact fee on the industry instead. Unlike severance taxes in other states, the fee is collected annually and distributed directly to municipalities. While reports show that municipalities use the funds to pay for critical infrastructure, no best practices on how to allocate the funds exist. Citing the literature on mineral resource extraction and infrastructure-led development in American communities, this study examined impact fee payments made to counties with unconventional natural gas wells. The study evaluated whether counties that used the funds to invest in infrastructure were better off in terms of employment and income than other shale-producing counties that did not. Panel fixed- and random-effects regressions suggested that no statistically significant employment or income effects existed. The results suggest that local infrastructural investments are not a successful way to overcome the resource curse issues identified in the literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Corey Young, 2023. "Employment and Income Effects of Investments Made Using the Act 13 Unconventional Natural Gas Impact Fee in Pennsylvania," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-11, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:11:p:4437-:d:1160334
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/11/4437/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/11/4437/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kinnaman, Thomas C., 2011. "The economic impact of shale gas extraction: A review of existing studies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(7), pages 1243-1249, May.
    2. Kevin T. Duffy-Deno & Randall W. Eberts, 1996. "Public Infrastructure and Regional Economic Development: A Simultaneous Equations Approach," Book chapters authored by Upjohn Institute researchers, in: Niles Hansen & Kenneth J. Button & Peter Nijkamp (ed.),Regional Policy and Regional Integration, pages 295-309, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    3. Kozminski, Kate & Baek, Jungho, 2017. "Can an oil-rich economy reduce its income inequality? Empirical evidence from Alaska's Permanent Fund Dividend," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 98-104.
    4. Garin, Andrew, 2019. "Putting America to work, where? Evidence on the effectiveness of infrastructure construction as a locally targeted employment policy," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 108-131.
    5. Sylvain Leduc & Daniel Wilson, 2013. "Roads to Prosperity or Bridges to Nowhere? Theory and Evidence on the Impact of Public Infrastructure Investment," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 27(1), pages 89-142.
    6. Anthony J. Venables, 2016. "Using Natural Resources for Development: Why Has It Proven So Difficult?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(1), pages 161-184, Winter.
    7. Emma Gilberthorpe & Dinah Rajak, 2017. "The Anthropology of Extraction: Critical Perspectives on the Resource Curse," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(2), pages 186-204, February.
    8. McCarthy, Patrick & Zhai, Zhe, 2019. "Economic impact analysis of GDOT short line railroad infrastructure investment in Georgia," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    9. Paredes, Dusan & Komarek, Timothy & Loveridge, Scott, 2015. "Income and employment effects of shale gas extraction windfalls: Evidence from the Marcellus region," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 112-120.
    10. Corden, W M, 1984. "Booming Sector and Dutch Disease Economics: Survey and Consolidation," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 36(3), pages 359-380, November.
    11. Hoy, Kyle A. & Kelsey, Timothy W. & Shields, Martin, 2017. "An Economic Impact Report of Shale Gas Extraction in Pennsylvania with Stricter Assumptions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 178-185.
    12. Leigh, Andrew & Neill, Christine, 2011. "Can national infrastructure spending reduce local unemployment? Evidence from an Australian roads program," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 113(2), pages 150-153.
    13. Ouedraogo, Abdoulaye, 2016. "Local economic impact of boom and bust in mineral resource extraction in the United States: A spatial econometrics analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 292-305.
    14. Jean Dubé & Mario Polèse, 2015. "Resource Curse and Regional Development: Does Dutch Disease Apply to Local Economies? Evidence from Canada," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 38-57, March.
    15. Weber, Jeremy G., 2012. "The effects of a natural gas boom on employment and income in Colorado, Texas, and Wyoming," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 1580-1588.
    16. Ozbay, Kaan & Ozmen-Ertekin, Dilruba & Berechman, Joseph, 2007. "Contribution of transportation investments to county output," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 317-329, July.
    17. Barry G. Rabe & Rachel L. Hampton, 2015. "Taxing Fracking: The Politics of State Severance Taxes in the Shale Era," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 32(4), pages 389-412, July.
    18. Peter Kenyon, 1997. "Infrastructure Spending and Unemployment: Government Responsibility for Growth and Jobs," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 30(4), pages 421-432, December.
    19. Tunstall, Thomas, 2015. "Recent Economic and Community Impact of Unconventional Oil and Gas Exploration and Production on South Texas Counties in the Eagle Ford Shale Area," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 45(1).
    20. Taotao Deng, 2013. "Impacts of Transport Infrastructure on Productivity and Economic Growth: Recent Advances and Research Challenges," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(6), pages 686-699, November.
    21. Melo, Patricia C. & Graham, Daniel J. & Brage-Ardao, Ruben, 2013. "The productivity of transport infrastructure investment: A meta-analysis of empirical evidence," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(5), pages 695-706.
    22. Cohen, Jeffrey P., 2010. "The broader effects of transportation infrastructure: Spatial econometrics and productivity approaches," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 317-326, May.
    23. Elburz, Zeynep & Nijkamp, Peter & Pels, Eric, 2017. "Public infrastructure and regional growth: Lessons from meta-analysis," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1-8.
    24. Elissaios Papyrakis, 2017. "The Resource Curse - What Have We Learned from Two Decades of Intensive Research: Introduction to the Special Issue," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(2), pages 175-185, February.
    25. Katie Jo Black & Shawn J. McCoy & Jeremy G. Weber, 2018. "When Externalities Are Taxed: The Effects and Incidence of Pennsylvania’s Impact Fee on Shale Gas Wells," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 5(1), pages 107-153.
    26. Tsvetkova, Alexandra & Partridge, Mark D., 2016. "Economics of modern energy boomtowns: Do oil and gas shocks differ from shocks in the rest of the economy?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 81-95.
    27. Smith, Brock, 2015. "The resource curse exorcised: Evidence from a panel of countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 57-73.
    28. Zuo, Na & Schieffer, Jack & Buck, Steven, 2019. "The effect of the oil and gas boom on schooling decisions in the U.S," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 1-23.
    29. Deller, Steven C. & Schreiber, Andrew, 2012. "Frac Sand Mining and Community Economic Development," Staff Paper Series 565, University of Wisconsin, Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    30. Haefele, Michelle A. & Morton, Pete, 2009. "The Influence of the Pace and Scale of Energy Development on Communities: Lessons from the Natural Gas Drilling Boom in the Rocky Mountains," Western Economics Forum, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 8(2), pages 1-13.
    31. Papyrakis, Elissaios & Gerlagh, Reyer, 2007. "Resource abundance and economic growth in the United States," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 1011-1039, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Weinstein, Amanda & Partridge, Mark & Tsvetkova, Alexandra, 2017. "Follow the Money: How Does the Income Flow After an Energy Boom," MPRA Paper 77336, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Rickman, Dan & Wang, Hongbo, 2020. "What goes up must come down? The recent economic cycles of the four most oil and gas dominated states in the US," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    3. Elburz, Zeynep & Nijkamp, Peter & Pels, Eric, 2017. "Public infrastructure and regional growth: Lessons from meta-analysis," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1-8.
    4. Tsvetkova, Alexandra & Partridge, Mark, 2017. "The shale revolution and entrepreneurship: An assessment of the relationship between energy sector expansion and small business entrepreneurship in US counties," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 423-434.
    5. Evans, Neil & Jones, Calvin & Munday, Max & Song, Meng, 2019. "Economic effects in the UK periphery from unconventional gas development: Evidence from Wales," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 1037-1046.
    6. Weinstein, Amanda L. & Partridge, Mark D. & Tsvetkova, Alexandra, 2018. "Follow the money: Aggregate, sectoral and spatial effects of an energy boom on local earnings," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 196-209.
    7. Kuan‐Ming Huang & Xiaoli Etienne, 2021. "Impact of Marcellus and Utica shale exploitation on Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia Regional Economies: A synthetic control analysis," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(6), pages 1449-1479, December.
    8. Keeler, Zachary T. & Stephens, Heather M., 2020. "Valuing shale gas development in resource-dependent communities," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    9. Rajbhandari, Isha & Faggian, Alessandra & Partridge, Mark D., 2022. "Oil and gas boomtowns and occupations: What types of jobs are created?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    10. Wang, Haoying, 2020. "The economic impact of oil and gas development in the Permian Basin: Local and spillover effects," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    11. Timothy W. Kelsey & Mark D. Partridge & Nancy E. White, 2016. "Unconventional Gas and Oil Development in the United States: Economic Experience and Policy Issues," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 38(2), pages 191-214.
    12. Mayer, Adam, 2018. "The Fiscal Impacts of Energy: Perspectives from local governments in the Mountain West, USA," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 186-193.
    13. Guettabi, Mouhcine & James, Alexander, 2020. "Who benefits from an oil boom? Evidence from a unique Alaskan data set," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    14. Jaimes, Richard & Gerlagh, Reyer, 2020. "Resource-richness and economic growth in contemporary U.S," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    15. Konno, Akio & Kato, Hironori & Takeuchi, Wataru & Kiguchi, Riku, 2021. "Global evidence on productivity effects of road infrastructure incorporating spatial spillover effects," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 167-182.
    16. Abboud, Ali & Betz, Michael R., 2021. "The local economic impacts of the oil and gas industry: Boom, bust and resilience to shocks," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    17. Mark Partridge & Shawn M. Rohlin & Amanda L. Weinstein, 0. "Firm formation and survival in the shale boom," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-22.
    18. Mark Partridge & Shawn M. Rohlin & Amanda L. Weinstein, 2020. "Firm formation and survival in the shale boom," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(4), pages 975-996, December.
    19. Holmgren, Johan & Merkel, Axel, 2017. "Much ado about nothing? – A meta-analysis of the relationship between infrastructure and economic growth," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 13-26.
    20. Tsvetkova, Alexandra & Partridge, Mark D., 2016. "Economics of modern energy boomtowns: Do oil and gas shocks differ from shocks in the rest of the economy?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 81-95.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:11:p:4437-:d:1160334. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.