Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2014

DOI

10.1007/s00168-018-0861-x

Publication Title

Annals of Regional Science

Pages

1-25

Conference Name

North American Regional Science Conference

Abstract

The USA has experienced a sudden expansion of oil and natural gas production due to the combination of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. The energy extraction boom has had many localized impacts, most notably in areas with substantial shale gas reserves. This paper exploits a natural experiment in the Marcellus region to examine one channel of the so-called resource curse, the effect of resource extraction on local crime. The results show that areas experiencing a natural gas extraction boom suffer an increase in overall violent crimes, while property crimes remain similar to non-boom areas. Furthermore, the violent crime increase appears to be driven primarily by increases in aggravated and sexual assaults.

Comments

Note: This is a pre-print version of a work that was published in The Annals of Regional Sciences. The final version was published as:

Komarek, T. M. (2014). Crime and natural resource booms: Evidence from unconventional natural gas production. The Annals of Regional Sciences, 1-25. doi:10.1007/s00168-018-0861-x

Published version available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00168-018-0861-x

ORCID

0000-0001-9759-9213 (Komarek)

Original Publication Citation

Komarek, T. M. (2014). Crime and natural resource booms: Evidence from unconventional natural gas production. The Annals of Regional Sciences, 1-25. doi:10.1007/s00168-018-0861-x

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