The impact of fracking activities on Oklahoma's housing prices: A panel cointegration analysis

摘要

Fracking drilling has opened a discussion on the role of technological developments in economies engaged in shale oil and gas formations. Oil and natural gas production opened new possibilities for employment benefits and housing prices decreases. This paper explores, for the first time, the impact of fracking on housing prices across Oklahoma's counties, spanning the period 2000-2015. Through panel methods, the findings show a positive effect on housing prices, while this positive effect gains statistical significance only over the period after the 2006 fracking boom. The results survive a robustness check that explicitly considers distance and ground-water-dependency issues.