PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jacobsen, Grant D.
AU  - Parker, Dominic P.
AU  - Winikoff, Justin B.
TI  - Are Resource Booms a Blessing or a Curse? Evidence from People (not Places)
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.58.4.0320-10761R1
DP  - 2021 Feb 10
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 0320-10761R1
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2021/02/03/jhr.58.4.0320-10761R1.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2021/02/03/jhr.58.4.0320-10761R1.full
AB  - We provide the first estimates of the long-run effects of temporary resource booms on the income of people, rather than places, focusing on the U.S. oil boom and bust of the 1980s. Using annual household-level longitudinal data spanning 1969 to 2012, we find positive effects during the boom period and negative effects during the bust period. The cumulative net effect of the boom-bust on life-time earnings was arguably negative when restricting the sample to prime working years (<55) and positive otherwise only because the boom delayed retirement. The evidence suggests the boom was ultimately a curse for the average household. It failed to generate net income gains during prime age and its volatility caused costly income-smoothing later in life.