Preliminary Research Results

With support from the Park Foundation, the Heinz Endowments, and Cornell's Center for a Sustainable Future, a group of researchers centered at Cornell University has undertaken research to examine both the short-term (economic impact) and long-term (economic development) consequences of horizontal shale gas drilling. We are also examining policies for monitoring the environmental impacts of shale gas drilling.

In presentations over the past year, we have laid out a framework for understanding the economic consequences of shale gas drilling focused on: 1) the pace and scale of drilling, 2) the cumulative impact of multiple wells on costs to communities, and 3) the challenges of creating sustainable economic development under the boom-bust cycle of natural resource extraction industries.
 

	Marcellus Hydro-Fracturing: What Does it Mean for Economic Development? Susan Christopherson, Cornell University, April 2011 PDF: 799K
	How Should We Think about the Economic Consequences of Shale Gas Drilling? Susan Christopherson's presentation of the preliminary research results at a conference sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health November 19, 2010 Video and accompanying slides