Cultural Values, Trust, and Benefit-Risk Perceptions of Hydraulic Fracturing: A Comparative Analysis of Policy Elites and the General Public

Abstract

Hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) has recently become a very intensely debated process for extracting oil and gas. Supporters argue that fracking provides positive economic benefits and energy security and offers a decreased reliance on coal-based electricity generation. Detractors claim that the fracking process may harm the environment as well as place a strain on local communities that experience new fracking operations. This study utilizes a recently conducted survey distributed to a sample of policy elites and the general public in Arkansas and Oregon to examine the role of cultural value predispositions and trust in shaping the perceptions of risks and benefits associated with fracking. Findings indicate that cultural values influence both trust and benefit-risk perceptions of fracking for both policy elites and the general public. While the overall pattern of relationships is similar, however, trust plays a larger role in the formulation of attitudes for policy elites than for the general public. We discuss the implications of the disparate role of trust between policy elites and the general public in the context of the policy-making process.

Keywords: hydraulic fracturing, benefit-risk perceptions, cultural theory, trust