【内容简介】This is the firstacademic paper that reviews the economic, policy, and technology history of shalegas development in the United States. The primary objective of the paper is toanswer the question of what led to the shale gas boom in the United States tohelp inform stakeholders in those countries that are attempting to developtheir own shale gas resources. This paper is also a case study of theincentive, process, and impact of technology innovations and the role ofgovernment in promoting technology innovations in the energy industry. Ourreview finds that government policy, private entrepreneurship, technologyinnovations, private land and mineral rights ownership, high natural gas pricesin the 2000s, and a number of other factors all made important contributions tothe shale gas boom.