Journal Article

Do primary energy resources influence industry location?

Abstract: By choosing to locate in a particular place, firms create employment opportunities for workers living there. And the wages they pay increase demand for local goods and services, creating additional job opportunities and further increasing the tax base. Consequently, state and local governments go to great lengths to encourage firms to locate within their boundaries.> In recent years, volatility in energy markets due to deregulation and events in the Middle East have increased the role that energy resource endowments may play in firm location. Thus, economic development agencies in energy producing states have highlighted their natural advantages as a way to attract and retain businesses. Yet there is scant evidence that firms base their location decisions on the availability of primary energy resources, such as coal, oil, and natural gas.> Martinek and Orlando explore the role of primary energy resources in industry location. They examine the relationship between state energy supplies and employment in energy-intensive industries and suggest there is a limited relationship between the production of primary energy resources and industry location. State energy supplies are associated with the location of only the most energy-intensive firms. In other energy-intensive industries, firm location decisions appear largely unresponsive to state energy conditions.

Keywords: Natural resources; Industrial location; Employment (Economic theory);

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

Part of Series: Economic Review

Publication Date: 2002

Volume: 87

Issue: Q III

Pages: 27-44