Perceptions of Local Leaders in Shale Energy Communities: Views on Influence, Inclusion, and Trust (A Research Note)

Data collected from random samples of residents and absentee landowners in two counties in the Eagle Ford Shale region of South Texas were used to examine the perceptions regarding influence, inclusion, and trust of local leaders and other stakeholders in the area. Additionally, two hypotheses pertaining to the association between individuals’ perceptions of inclusion by local governments—both city and county—and individuals’ levels of trust in those governments as sources of information about the positive and negative impacts of shale oil and/or natural gas development were tested and supported. Substantive descriptive and statistical analyses are reported