In recent years, the United States has experienced large
increases in oil production due in large part to a new technology,
hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). Fracking involves injecting a
mixture of water, sand, and chemicals into rock formations at high
pressure to release oil and natural gas. An article in the Wall
Street Journalindicates that economies of scale in fracking may be
considerably smaller than in conventional oil drilling. If this
view is correct, what would the likely consequences be for...