Oil & Gas Induced Economic Fluctuations and Self-Employment
37 Pages Posted: 21 Jul 2020 Last revised: 28 Aug 2022
Date Written: August 26, 2022
Abstract
This paper exploits oil and gas activity generated by recent technological advancements to understand the effect of localized boom and busts on self-employment. We find a positive contemporaneous impact on self-employment, mainly driven by self-employment in non-mining industries. We also find that self-employment is pro-cyclical, meaning that self-employment increases during oil and gas booms and contracts during the bust. Finally, results suggest that self-employment explains an economically meaningful share of the employment adjustment; specifically we estimate that about 11% of the employment adjustment can be explained by self-employed workers, a group which makes up about 9% of total employment.
Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Oil and Natural Gas, Hydraulic Fracturing, Incorporated Self-employment, Unincorporated Self-employment
JEL Classification: J24, L26, M13, Q33, Q35
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