Government Energy Policy, Business and Technology

Different Energy Boom, Same Mistakes?

Governing: Economists sometimes write about a “resource curse.” A country or region blessed with rich natural deposits can end up in serious economic trouble. The dominance of a few extractive companies and politically powerful players discourages other investment. In this sense, few places have been as cursed as West Virginia.

For most of the 20th century, the state was heavily reliant on coal. But that industry has famously fallen on hard times. Even when the mines were at their most productive, West Virginia ranked among the poorest and most poorly educated states. Coal wasn’t taxed heavily and the coal companies weren’t asked to contribute much in the way of corporate citizenship. There wasn’t much emphasis on managing the environment. The preoccupation with coal seemed to crowd out other kinds of development.

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