Royalties, Resource Booms, and Off-Farm Labor Supply

Justin Winikoff
2021 unpublished
This paper examines the effects of energy royalties and resource-boom induced wage increases to off-farm labor supply in U.S. farm households. I present a theoretical model that indicates a reduction in off-farm income in response to royalty increases, although the effect of wage gains is ambiguous. Using data from the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS), I employ a repeated cross-sectional regression framework to empirically test the theoretical predictions in farm operators and
more » ... r spouses. I find no evidence that operators or spouses change off-farm labor supply in response to local wage rates, but spouses cut back on hours worked as royalty payments to the farm increase. The effects are non-trivial, but small, suggesting the welfare gains for farm households from energy production are likely more visible through other channels. I do find evidence, however, that off-farm labor supply responses are larger in oil and gas royalties than those from wind power, suggesting potential welfare ramifications from a rapidly changing energy mix.
doi:10.22004/ag.econ.312724 fatcat:mhathq3buzbzpdh7wplshwuuna