The claim that natural gas and oil drilling would create or support 200,000 jobs in Ohio "greatly overestimates the economic impact of the industry," according to an analysis by The Ohio State University and the Ohio Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics. Researchers say focusing on jobs and ignoring other factors related to drilling is "misguided," reports Farm and Dairy News. In reality, the industry would only add about 20,000 jobs in the state over the next four years.
Researcher Mark Partridge told Farm and Dairy the industry used a technique that is typically "not accepted best practices for such analyses" to obtain its estimate. Fellow researcher Amanda Weinstein said the energy industry is more capital-intensive than labor-intensive and Ohio shouldn't expect it to greatly impact job growth. In the analysis, employment and income growth in several Pennsylvania counties was examined. Researchers found per-capita income had increased in drilling areas, but job growth there was not always higher than in areas with no drilling.
Researchers told Farm and Dairy the most important thing to glean from the study is that oil and gas development carries "a real gold-rush mentality." It brings a sudden influx of money, but communities need long-term development that the researchers say does not come from energy booms. (Read more)
Researcher Mark Partridge told Farm and Dairy the industry used a technique that is typically "not accepted best practices for such analyses" to obtain its estimate. Fellow researcher Amanda Weinstein said the energy industry is more capital-intensive than labor-intensive and Ohio shouldn't expect it to greatly impact job growth. In the analysis, employment and income growth in several Pennsylvania counties was examined. Researchers found per-capita income had increased in drilling areas, but job growth there was not always higher than in areas with no drilling.
Researchers told Farm and Dairy the most important thing to glean from the study is that oil and gas development carries "a real gold-rush mentality." It brings a sudden influx of money, but communities need long-term development that the researchers say does not come from energy booms. (Read more)
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