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Economics of Unconventional Shale Gas Development pp 93–120Cite as

Marcellus Shale and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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Part of the book series: Natural Resource Management and Policy ((NRMP,volume 45))

Abstract

Much of the enthusiasm about Marcellus Shale has been its promise of economic benefits. State and federal data suggests that Marcellus Shale is having generally positive but modest effects on employment, wages, and local business activity. Wages and income generally have increased more than the number of workers, suggesting that much of the impact has been more work hours, higher pay, or a combination of both, rather than significant new job creation. Employment is up, particularly in sectors directly related to drilling activity, yet the number of residents reporting wages and salaries has not changed as much, indicating that many of the new jobs are going to nonresidents. Counties with Marcellus Shale activity typically did a little better in retaining or adding local businesses than did the rest of the state. Many of these economic numbers appear more modest than would be expected, given the billions of dollars being spent to develop the Marcellus Shale.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    They noted that because public data on mineral right ownership is unavailable, they had to use surface ownership as a proxy for mineral right ownership. Due to the past history of gas and oil development in some Pennsylvania counties, many of these rights were severed generations ago, however. They argue that due to population outmigration over the decades, using surface ownership as a proxy likely overestimates the actual proportion of mineral rights owned by Pennsylvanians.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA

    Timothy W. Kelsey

  2. Former student in Community, Environment and Development, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA

    Kirsten Hardy

Authors
  1. Timothy W. Kelsey
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  2. Kirsten Hardy
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Correspondence to Timothy W. Kelsey .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    William E. Hefley

  2. Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania, USA

    Yongsheng Wang

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Kelsey, T.W., Hardy, K. (2015). Marcellus Shale and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In: Hefley, W., Wang, Y. (eds) Economics of Unconventional Shale Gas Development. Natural Resource Management and Policy, vol 45. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11499-6_5

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