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The long-run vanity of Prudhoe Bay

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  • James, Alexander

Abstract

Upon the completion of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System in 1977, Alaskan oil production surged, peaking in 1988. From 1988 onward, Alaskan oil production steadily declined. The temporal characteristics of the Alaskan oil boom make for an ideal case study of the economic effects of resource booms more generally. The boom generated significant short-run economic gains that were quickly diluted by inward migration. In the long run though, the income gains may have turned into losses. These results are robust to using a variety of comparison units, including a synthetic control.

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  • James, Alexander, 2016. "The long-run vanity of Prudhoe Bay," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 270-275.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:50:y:2016:i:c:p:270-275
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2016.10.008
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    Cited by:

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    3. Grant Mark Nülle & Graham A. Davis, 2018. "Neither Dutch nor disease?—natural resource booms in theory and empirics," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 31(1), pages 35-59, May.
    4. Newell, Richard G. & Raimi, Daniel, 2018. "The fiscal impacts of increased U.S. oil and gas development on local governments," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 14-24.
    5. Damon Jones & Ioana Marinescu, 2022. "The Labor Market Impacts of Universal and Permanent Cash Transfers: Evidence from the Alaska Permanent Fund," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 14(2), pages 315-340, May.
    6. Jason Brown & Timothy Fitzgerald & Jeremy G. Weber, 2016. "Asset Ownership, Windfalls, and Income: Evidence from Oil and Gas Royalties," Research Working Paper RWP 16-12, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
    7. Christopher R. McIntosh & Neil A. Wilmot & Adrienne Dinneen & Jason F. Shogren, 2022. "Minnesota—too late for a Sovereign Wealth Fund?," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 35(1), pages 67-85, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Oil Boom; Alaska; Resource Curse;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q3 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation
    • Q4 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy

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