The Distributional Impacts of an Energy Boom in Western Canada

Joseph Marchand

No 2013-13, Working Papers from University of Alberta, Department of Economics

Abstract: In the energy-rich provinces of Western Canada, inequality rose over the past two decades while poverty declined, begging the question of whether the recent energy boom was a contributing factor. This study uses local labor market variation in energy extraction intensity to identify these distributional impacts. The growth in local outcomes attributable to the boom is found to be U-shaped and significant across all distributional segments, leading to somewhat increased local inequality aggregates and reduced local poverty. This pattern is preserved but varies across sectors, driving a large local inequality increase in energy extraction, with smaller rises and reductions in other industries.

Keywords: distribution; energy boom; inequality; local labor markets; poverty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J31 Q33 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34 pages
Date: 2013-11-29, Revised 2014-10-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Related works:
Journal Article: The distributional impacts of an energy boom in Western Canada (2015)
Journal Article: The distributional impacts of an energy boom in Western Canada (2015)
Working Paper: The Distributional Impacts of an Energy Boom in Western Canada (2014)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:albaec:2013_013

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