Coal and family through the boom and bust: A look at the coal Industry's impact on marriage and divorce

The Shale Boom and Family Structure: Oil and Gas Employment Growth Relationship to Marriage, Divorce, and Cohabitation

“…However, extraction communities may deviate from these findings due to the boom and bust cycle associated with natural resource extraction (Betz and Snyder 2017), resulting in more volatile household incomes. The limited research on family behaviors in mining and extraction communities suggests that families in rural places are better able to weather the ups and downs of a boom and bust economy, possibly because they have more experience with extractive industries and are more familiar with boom/bust cycles (Betz and Snyder 2017). Kearney and Wilson (2017) examine whether income shocks associated with O&G development impact marriage and fertility.…”

“…Others have examined the health consequences of increasing O&G production through fracking (Bunch et al 2014;Colborn et al 2013;Elliott et al 2016;McKenzie et al 2012;Mitka 2012;Werner et al 2015;Whitworth, Marshall, and Symanski 2018). Fewer studies examine social changes brought on by resource extraction in the United States (Brown, Dorius, and Krannich 2005;Komarek 2018;Perry 2012;Ruddell and Ortiz 2015;Schafft Borlu, and Glenna 2013;Smith, Krannich, and Hunter 2001) and fewer still have focused specifically on family outcomes (Betz and Snyder 2017;Kearney and Wilson 2017). This study endeavors to add to this literature by investigating how the influxes of money and people associated with O&G development has changed family behaviors in the communities in which it is occurring.…”

“…Generally, higher income and employment are associated with more stable family outcomes (Blau and van der Klaauw 2013; Charles and Stephens 2004;Cherlin, Ribar, and Yasutake 2016;Harknett and Kuperberg 2011). However, extraction communities may deviate from these findings due to the boom and bust cycle associated with natural resource extraction (Betz and Snyder 2017), resulting in more volatile household incomes. The limited research on family behaviors in mining and extraction communities suggests that families in rural places are better able to weather the ups and downs of a boom and bust economy, possibly because they have more experience with extractive industries and are more familiar with boom/bust cycles (Betz and Snyder 2017).…”

“…Second, using proprietary employment data, we are able to separate out O&G employment at the county level. While Betz and Snyder (2017) examine coal mining's impacts on family formation behaviors at the county level, Kearney and Wilson's (2017) investigation of O&G's impact on family behaviors examined data aggregated to the PUMA level. PUMA level indicators encompass several counties in the same measurement; by county-level indicators, we are able to more closely link community family formation behaviors with nearby O&G activity.…”

Growing Up in Rural America

“…Studies on the impact of economic restructuring suggest that changing gender roles in rural areas increased family tensions, potentially resulting in greater family instability (Sherman 2009a). Yet other work shows that rural families accustomed to economic hardships, specifically those dependent on coal extraction, exhibited greater resilience (less disruption) than metro areas before and after the recession (Betz and Snyder 2017). Cohabiting unions, which are more common in rural areas, are less stable than marriages, and rural cohabiting unions are less enduring than urban cohabiting partnerships (Brown and Snyder 2006).…”