Oil prices increased dramatically during 2004-6. Industry experts initially attributed these price increases to fundamental factors such as the rise in global demand, but also because of disruptions in the supply of oil. The price increases however were so substantial that additional factors are...

From the early 1970s to the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-09, U.S. crude oil production followed a declining trend. After the Global Financial Crisis, U.S. crude oil production increased rapidly. This paper addresses the important question "what economic factors have driven U.S. crude oil...