Fracking and Local Income Inequality

I use synthetic control methods to identify the long run impact of the Pennsylvania fracking boom on the distribution of income among local residents. I measure income inequality using estimates of county Gini coefficients for total income made from tax bracket data compiled by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. An increase in local income inequality of 2 to 5 percent relative to the synthetic baseline across the northern tier of Pennsylvania is attributable to fracking. In contrast, fracking has led to a small reduction in income inequality among residents of Southwestern Pennsylvania