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ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6888-6093
Access Type
Open Access Thesis
Document Type
thesis
Degree Program
Resource Economics
Degree Type
Master of Science (M.S.)
Year Degree Awarded
2022
Month Degree Awarded
February
Abstract
The rapid expansion of hydraulic fracturing(fracking) over the past two decades has led to an increasing interest in the relationship between natural resource booms and crime. Since the onset of the fracking boom, numerous anecdotal accounts and an increasing body of empirical studies have suggested that fracking has a significant, positive impact on crime. However, the mechanisms behind this relationship are poorly understood. This study uses a high-resolution dataset and a unique, fixed-effects approach to decompose the effect that fracking has on crime into increases due to the introduction of new wells and increases due to the presence of existing wells. The findings suggest that new wells have a different impact on crime than existing wells. Specifically, new wells result in greater increases in violent crimes. These results may indicate that the relationship between fracking and crime is largely driven by the influx of non-local, transient, fracking labor.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/26714029
First Advisor
Nathan Chan
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Batista-Lin, Webster, "What Drives the Fracking Boom Crime Relationship? A Fixed-Effects Analysis of Crime during the Pennsylvania Fracking Boom" (2022). Masters Theses. 1150.
https://doi.org/10.7275/26714029
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/1150