Coal Market Share Concentration and its Relationship with Economic Inequality in Appalachia

Connor Kelly*, Shuichiro Nishioka, and Sara Guffey

Department of Economics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505

Presentation Category: Oral-Human Engagement (Oral Presentation #13)

Student’s Major: Economics

Economic inequality is a constant trend globally, but especially in Appalachia which is a historically poor region. Income inequality has expanded over the past few decades especially in the coal industry. Recent economic literature attributes this trend to increased market concentration by large and productive corporations (De Loecker et al, 2020; Autor et al, 2020). We used the EIA’s transaction level data and the MSHA mine data to examine the cause of this increase in concentration in the coal industry specifically. Using this data we found that most of the 800 mines in the region are owned by a relatively small amount of companies. This concentration increased during the Obama administration due to environmental regulations among many other factors. This increased concentration means that more of the money being made in the Appalachia region is leaving the area or being accumulated by the wealthiest individuals. These results could help Appalachia address the long-term issues it has had related to the coal industry.

Funding:

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP) & accompanying HONR 297-level course,