Abstract
Based on the assumptions that “all energy is good” (p. xi) and “[t]he twenty-first century is the Age of Energy” (p. 37), David J. Robinson’s The Energy Economy: Practical Insight to Public Policy and Current Affairs promises “a practical discussion” of the ways regions and states may build “successful economies around the energy sector” (p. xi). The book is a very uneven coverage of topics that are directly (in some cases) or loosely (in other cases) related to energy and economic development (ED) policy. Each topic is usually presented in isolation, leaving it to the reader to understand complex interdependencies, which in practice may invalidate some of the claims made in the book.
For instance, the overall message is that regions should strive to extract more shale oil and gas (no such suggestion for coal extraction) and to aggressively develop alternative sources of energy. Communities and households are expected to cut energy consumption through energy-saving technologies and behavior, smart urban growth focused on mixed-use developments, and other strategies. This will bring the cost of energy down benefiting the whole economy and energy-intensive manufacturing, in particular. The possibility of a declining energy supply as energy prices dwindle under such a scenario is nowhere discussed. The author appears to ignore the prospect of low energy prices altogether. In a separate line of reasoning the book suggests that any region is able to grow into a global energy center (with communities located close to shale oil and gas deposits enjoying considerably higher chances of repeating Houston’s success story). At current oil price of $30 per barrel such optimism is perhaps unjustified. Even more surprising for a public-policy-centered book, the inevitable competition among emerging energy centers for companies, federal funding, and other resources is not a part of the story.
The energy economy emerges in the text as an eclectic and unstructured mix of extraction and renewable industries, problems of urban sprawl and mixed-use urban development solutions, infrastructure, energy-saving technologies, energy conservation behavior, and other phenomena. This hodgepodge is generously sprinkled with actual examples of ED policies adopted by states and regions and a few historical detours, which make for an entertaining read and are the strongest components of the book, offering real-world illustrations of how localities approach energy agenda to promote growth.
The book can be divided into three parts with the first three chapters serving as a more general overview to the main topic, chapter 4 presenting a fictional scenario for an exercise of practical policy writing that is developed in the assignments after this and subsequent chapters, and the remainder devoted to a more detailed treatment of energy conservation and efficiency, energy infrastructure, land use, shale revolution, and strategies to build an urban energy center and a green economy. The rather controversial opening section of the book introduces the concept of energy-led ED as the sole approach to promoting regional growth, relates ED and public policy, and briefly describes main energy sources with some discussion of U.S. energy demand. As two prime examples, the economic fortunes of Detroit and Las Vegas are succinctly examined from a historical perspective. Nevada and Michigan are said to search “for economic answers through energy” (p. 69) and to adopt energy-led ED strategies in an attempt to diversify their struggling economies. In fact, the two states in their diversification attempts are looking at a range of industries with the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development listing renewable and sustainable industry as one of the nine key industries, 1 and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation not even mentioning energy as one of its growth industries. 2
The fourth chapter presents an “Energy Led Economic Development Case Study,” which is a fictional scenario of Nevada and Michigan proposing large energy-related projects that have their opponents and supporters. The chapter is a nice list of all (and then some) players that are likely to have a say in the discussion, and the development and implementation of new ED projects. The exercises throughout the book develop various facets of this scenario into strategic ED plans, energy project introduction letters, policy briefs, and other practical samples of policy writing that need to appeal to all the interests involved.
The remaining six chapters deal with various facets and examples of energy-centered approaches to promote economic growth. The discussion starts with energy conservation and efficiency, which somehow follows from firm location theory and the need to attract companies. The chapter itself, however, mostly deals with the profile of energy consumption in the United States, and governmental incentives and regulations to promote energy conservation and efficiency. In a discussion of energy as an infrastructure, which predominantly revolves around regulated and deregulated energy market examples, the author stresses the importance of attracting high-energy users that are likely to provide high-wage employment (mostly manufacturing is featured, but big data companies are prominently featured as well). Smart growth and urban mixed-use developments in the next chapter are championed as a way of attracting millennials to cities within energy-led ED strategy. The urban energy center and a green economy are illustrated with the examples of Houston and Oregon, respectively. The final chapter is devoted to shale oil and gas and highlights the benefits of drilling, but also points out the dangers of focusing on only the short term. It calls for investments in infrastructure, land use, and workforce to mitigate the negative effects of an energy boom turning into a bust.
Overall, the book presents a fairly general, if not superficial, picture of energy (in all its traditional and exotic incarnations) as the only hope for states and regions. Whereas the book may be useful as a collection of practical policy examples, its one-sided and often cursory treatment of the subject, multiple typos and grammatical errors, occasionally missing sources where appropriate, sloppy citations, and outright misrepresentation of the work of others 3 makes it appropriate for neither graduate nor undergraduate class settings.