Frackonomics : Some Economics of Hydraulic Fracturing

Hydraulic fracturing is part of the suite of technologies that have transformed the energy industry and outlook over the past fifteen years. The process has been a lightning rod for public and environmental concerns about the expansion of oil and gas development. This Article introduces the economic factors behind hydraulic fracturing. These effects cut across three different scales: a minute scale of the fractures themselves; an aggregate market scale; and a human scale at which tradeoffs of development are observed