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Coal demand, market forces, and U.S. coal mine closures

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  • Brett Watson
  • Ian Lange
  • Joshua Linn

Abstract

Economic transitions have the potential to displace workers and cause social unrest. Coal mine closures and the resulting employment losses in rural areas have become salient issues. Using data on coal mine and power plant operation, we model closure as a function of expected profits, which allows us to compare the effects on mine closure of specific demand and supply shocks to expected mine profits. Increasing costs of production have had a large impact on closures, but lower natural gas prices and lower electricity demand have played more recently important roles.

Suggested Citation

  • Brett Watson & Ian Lange & Joshua Linn, 2023. "Coal demand, market forces, and U.S. coal mine closures," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(1), pages 35-57, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:61:y:2023:i:1:p:35-57
    DOI: 10.1111/ecin.13108
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ebba Mark & Ryan Rafaty & Moritz Schwarz, 2022. "Spatial-temporal dynamics of employment shocks in declining coal mining regions and potentialities of the 'just transition'," Papers 2211.12619, arXiv.org.
    3. Sabina Kordana-Obuch & Mariusz Starzec, 2023. "Experimental Development of the Horizontal Drain Water Heat Recovery Unit," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-24, June.
    4. Rivera, Nathaly M. & Loveridge, Scott, 2022. "Coal-to-gas fuel switching and its effects on housing prices," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    5. Kacker, Kanishka & Lange, Ian, 2022. "Inter-regional coal mine competition in the US: Evidence from rail restrictions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    6. Hauenstein, Christian & Holz, Franziska, 2021. "The U.S. coal sector between shale gas and renewables: Last resort coal exports?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    7. Ding Du & Stephen A Karolyi, 2023. "Energy Transitions and Household Finance: Evidence from U.S. Coal Mining," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 12(4), pages 723-760.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • L71 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Primary Products and Construction - - - Mining, Extraction, and Refining: Hydrocarbon Fuels
    • Q35 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Hydrocarbon Resources
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling

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