Economics of Fracking NY

Recently, various reports have confirmed the analyses of various independent economists, including Jannette Barth, Ph.D., which have suggested that the economic gains from fracking are industry-contrived and short-lived.  Letter to Governor Cuomo from Three Concerned Economists, Dr. Barth, a Catskill homeowner and former chief economist for the M.T.A. has criticized the overly-optimistic forecasts, contending that the models are flawed and the data incomplete, at best.  Critique of PPI Study on Shale Gas Job Creation,  Unanswered Questions About The Economic Impact of Gas Drilling in the Marcellus Shale: Don’t Jump to Conclusions, Moreover, Dr. Barth, in one of the very few peer-reviewed articles on shale gas economics, concludes that job gains are minor, money flows out of extraction states and that any booms tend to be followed by pronounced and extended busts, as pre-existing industries are irreparably destroyed by fracking THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF SHALE GAS DEVELOPMENT ON STATE AND LOCAL ECONOMIES: BENEFITS, COSTS, AND UNCERTAINTIES,

Over the last week, a clutch of reports has laid bare the exaggerated job claims in Pennsylvania and Arkansas and the inevitable bust which has followed shale gas extraction in the Marcellus and Fayetteville shales.  Both reports confirm Dr. Barth’s conclusions and should be recognized by policymakers who contemplate whether to allow fracking in New York state.  In Arkansas, local business owners have recognized that workers must follow the rigs from state-to-state—now to North Dakota and Montana–and that the motel business, which surged briefly, has crashed.  Economy slows with Fayetteville Shale drilling lag

Meanwhile, next door in Pennsylvania, the Pro-Fracking Corbett administration’s much ballyhooed job claims have been shown to be merely “[r]obust and aggressive statements about job creation which overstate dramatically the effects of one specific area of economic activity.”  Pennsylvania Marcellus shale job creation claims being overstated? In fact, “According to a grimmer-than-expected report from the Keystone Research Group, the workforce outlook for Pennsylvanians is the bleakest it has been since 2010.”  Report: Pa. outlook on jobs worst in three years