The role of the oil and gas industry in Utahʹs economy: An economic base/input-output analysis

Public policy important to oil and gas activity in the western United States is complicated by uncertainty regarding the regional economic role of that industry. In this paper we examine Utahʹs oil and gas industry using a multiregional economic base/inpput-output approach. We address politically significantly though easily overlooked features of the oil and gas economy, including the role of oil and gas in the rural economies where most production occurs, and the transmitting effect this production has on the stateʹs urban economies. This latter feature is conditioned by patterns of central place trade dominance, and these are specifically captured by our modelʹs multiregional structure.