Dr. Robert W. Chase: Manufacturing muscle more critical than ever
Robert Chase, Marrietta College
In the national debate on economic policy, an unsound notion is taking hold. Some politicians are suggesting that technological innovation alone can meet our future needs.
No one doubts that the technology revolution in the United States is the envy of the rest of the world. It already has changed things in Ohio, where technological advances strengthened the economy, at least until the COVID-19 pandemic set in, and did it in the unlikeliest of places: the traditional industries of oil and natural gas.
Starting in 2005, companies began to unlock massive new supplies of natural gas, and then oil, from shale basins, thanks to two new technologies: hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. Automation and data analytics also helped remake the energy industry, boosting the productivity of oil and gas companies. Today, the United States is the top producer of oil and gas in the world, undercutting the ability of OPEC and Russia to influence global oil prices.