Heather Stephens, PhD, Director and Professor at the Regional Research Institute at West Virginia University, will present the EEEP Seminar Series, “The Local Impact of Coal Mining Closures” on September 2, 2026.
Abstract:
Falling natural gas prices amid the shale boom triggered a sharp decline in U.S. coal production, with over half of Appalachian mines shuttering between 2011 and 2016. In this paper, we use administrative data on mine activity and employment to measure the impact of coal mine closures on local economic outcomes. Using difference-in-differences, we find these closures significantly increased local unemployment and reduced jobs, wages, and output. We estimate a job loss multiplier of 2.0—substantially higher than in previous busts—likely driven by a rising local wage premium that amplified the impact of each lost mining job on the broader regional economy.
Bio:
Heather M. Stephens, Ph.D. is a Professor and Director of the Regional Research Institute (RRI) at West Virginia University. She is also a nonresident senior fellow in the Center for Sustainable Development (CSD) at the Brookings Institution and a Research Fellow for the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI).
Her research is focused on examining issues related to regional economic development and the differences in the impact of policies across regions. Her current and past research has examined questions related to energy, environmental quality, entrepreneurship, labor markets, health, and regional growth. Her prior work has been published in journals that include the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Environmental and Resource Economics, Growth and Change, Journal of Regional Science, Resource and Energy Economics and Small Business Economics. She serves as founding co-Editor of the outreach-oriented journal, Reaching Regions, and previously served as an Editor of the Journal of Regional Science.
She is also chair of the technical advisory committee for the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD) and served two terms on the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Advisory Council. She received her Ph.D. and an M.B.A. from The Ohio State University and has a B.A. in Economics and Public Policy Studies from Duke University. Previously, Dr. Stephens was an Assistant Professor of Economics and the Director of Economic Research at California State University, Long Beach. She also has prior experience working for a U.S. Congressman, on strategic partnership development for a Fortune 100 company, as a local economic development director, and on regional economic development and energy-related issues at a university-based applied research institute.