Energy efficiency and consumption — the rebound effect — a survey
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of some of the relevant literature from the US offers definitions and identifies sources including direct, secondary, and economy-wide sources and concludes that the range of estimates for the size of the rebound effect is very low to moderate.
About: This article is published in Energy Policy.The article was published on 2000-06-01. It has received 1867 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Rebound effect (conservation) & Energy consumption.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the demand by private households for climate relevant energy and show that the results bring into doubt whether policies which are aimed at reducing the energy demand of private households can solely be based on improvements in technological efficiency.
Abstract: For a long time economic literature focused on the negative environmental effects from production processes. Countering this is the focus of this investigation, namely research into the demand by private households for climate relevant energy. In order to be fair to the complexity of the energy demands of private households, time series data as well as cross sectional data will be used. Furthermore specific data sets will be developed to establish consistent parameters of reaction for the most important factors. The energy demand of private households will also be represented in a model for total consumer demand, in order to capture the feedback effect on demand. The results bring into doubt whether policies which are aimed at reducing the energy demand of private households can solely be based on improvements in technological efficiency.
1 citations
Cites background from "Energy efficiency and consumption —..."
...Für Heizung (einschließlich Warmwasser) wurden Reboundeffekte zwischen 10% und 30% ermittelt (Greening et al., 2000)....
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28 Mar 2010
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on Chinese energy efficiency and all the other relative factors which will cause the change of energy usage based on the fact that Chinese government is quite different with the other countries' governments in energy policies.
Abstract: This paper focuses on Chinese energy efficiency and all the other relative factors which will cause the change of energy usage based on the fact that Chinese government is quite different with the other countries' governments in energy policies. The causal-loop diagram which systematic dynamic method provided gives us a tool to describe those effects more specifically and explain how the rebound effect of energy efficiency occur. Based on that, we clarify the theoretical conditions under which such effects would occur and explores their likely significance both in the fields of macroeconomics and microeconomics. Then, we establish another causal-loop diagram to describe all the effect routes that occur between energy efficiency and government, enterprises, and residents, and give out the influence mechanism of the rebound effect of energy efficiency.
1 citations
Cites background from "Energy efficiency and consumption —..."
...Numerous empirical studies, mainly from the US, suggest that these rebound effects are real and can be significant (Greening et al., 2000)[3]....
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...Three separate mechanisms may reduce the aggregate energy savings achieved (Greening et al., 2000)[3]....
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08 May 2018
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors make three contributions to understand the policy and the associated rebound effect, focusing on the Australian proposed light vehicle emissions standards, and make policy recommendations based on the studies carried out in the previous chapters.
Abstract: Australia is planning to take action to tackle climate change via improvements in light vehicle fuel efficiency. The proposed light vehicle emissions standards are expected to reduce petroleum use as well as greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles, sports utility vehicles and light commercial vehicles. Consumers of light vehicles, including private households and firms, will respond to this policy in a way that maximise their utility based on economic theory. On one hand, these economic agents will use less petrol, through directly purchasing more efficient new cars to react to the mandatory standard. On the other hand, the more efficient vehicle will provide an incentive for the consumers to use it more as the effective cost of driving decreases. Understanding these economic and behavioural responses to the policy is crucial for policymakers. This thesis makes three contributions to understanding the policy and the associated rebound effect, focusing on the Australian proposed light vehicle emissions standards.First, this thesis contributes to theoretical analyses of the household and firm responses to a fuel efficiency improvement by investigating the utility maximisation problem and the cost minimisation problem of the economic agents in response to fuel efficiency changes. Using microeconomic theory, specifically the consumer and production theory, the theoretical study shows that the magnitude of the rebound effect is determined by different elasticities for the household and the firm, which also changes as the policy standards become more stringent.Second, this thesis makes an innovative contribution that enriches the modelling of the vehicle fuel efficiency changes over time. This methodological advance integrates time series analysis with detailed engineering fleet model to provide credible forecast for fuel efficiency changes under business-as-usual and policy scenarios. The time series approach captures the compositional changes of vehicles, or the taste shifts over vehicle types, and gives a stock change forecast to the model year 2025. The engineering fleet model takes into account the new vehicle sales, the vehicle stock turnover, distance travelled, and fuel consumption to make the best prediction on the fleet level fuel efficiency. The results from this study are crucially important for the simulations in the next study.Third, the thesis contributes to the empirical studies of the rebound effect by simulating the BAU and policy scenarios in a computable general equilibrium framework. The direct rebound effect of the Australian proposed light vehicle fuel efficiency standards are shown to range between 25 per cent and 30 per cent, measured by petroleum use. Each of these policy scenarios is shown to have a much larger economy-wide rebound effect, reaching up to 50 per cent measured by life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions. Although the stringent fuel efficiency standard generates more direct rebound effects measured in percentage than the lenient and medium standards, the stringent policy produces the most reduction in carbon emissions measured in physical units overall.This thesis concludes by making policy recommendations based on the studies carried out in the previous chapters. It integrates the results from each of the individual analyses to provide a comprehensive understanding of the Australian proposed light vehicle fuel efficiency standards. The theoretical analysis of the behaviour of the household and the firm, together with the CGE simulations which use results from a detailed engineering fleet model, captures the economy-wide economic and environmental impacts of the policy that are essential for policymakers to evaluate each policy option.n
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01 Jan 1980
TL;DR: Deaton and Muellbauer as mentioned in this paper introduced generations of students to the economic theory of consumer behaviour and used it in applied econometrics, including consumer index numbers, household characteristics, demand, and household welfare comparisons.
Abstract: This classic text has introduced generations of students to the economic theory of consumer behaviour. Written by 2015 Nobel Laureate Angus Deaton and John Muellbauer, the book begins with a self-contained presentation of the basic theory and its use in applied econometrics. These early chapters also include elementary extensions of the theory to labour supply, durable goods, the consumption function, and rationing. The rest of the book is divided into three parts. In the first of these the authors discuss restrictions on choice and aggregation problems. The next part consists of chapters on consumer index numbers; household characteristics, demand, and household welfare comparisons; and social welfare and inequality. The last part extends the coverage of consumer behaviour to include the quality of goods and household production theory, labour supply and human capital theory, the consumption function and intertemporal choice, the demand for durable goods, and choice under uncertainty.
3,952 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an industrial demand for energy is essentially a derived demand: the firm's demand for the energy is an input, derived from demand for a firm's output, which is an output.
Abstract: Industrial demand for energy is essentially a derived demand: the firm's demand for energy is an input is derived from demand for the firm's output. Inputs other than energy typically also enter the firm's production process. Since firms tend to choose that bundle of inputs which minimized the total cost of producing a giving level of output, the derived demand for inputs, including energy, depends on the level of output, the submitions possibilies among inputs allow by production technology, and the relative prices of all inputs.
1,422 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a model of individual behavior in the purchase and utilization of energy-using durables is presented, where the tradeoff between capital costs for more energy efficient appliances and operating costs for the appliances is emphasized.
Abstract: This article presents a model of individual behavior in the purchase and utilization of energy-using durables. The tradeoff between capital costs for more energy efficient appliances and operating costs for the appliances is emphasized. Using data on both the purchase and utilization of room air conditioners, the model is applied to a sample of households. The utilization equation indicates a relatively low price elasticity. The purchase equation, based on a discrete choice model, demonstrates that individuals do trade off capital costs and expected operating costs. The results also show that individuals use a discount rate of about 20 percent in making the tradeoff decision and that the discount rate varies inversely with income.
1,361 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the indiscriminate use of mandated standards will backfire, but a mix of selective standards and reliance on prices as a restraint can be effective.
Abstract: Regulations which mandate appliance efficiency standards may be based on calculations which exaggerate the potential energy savings. Improved efficiency can, in fact, increase demand enough to be counterproductive unless the standards are applied selectively. As appliances improve, they are used more, new stock is demanded, and the demand for and use of related equipment increases. The policy implications of these empirical studies are that the indiscriminate use of mandated standards will backfire, but a mix of selective standards and reliance on prices as a restraint can be effective. 11 references, 5 figures, 2 tables. (DCK)
802 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a detailed study of automobile demand and use, presenting forecasts based on the powerful new techniques of qualitative choice analysis and standard regression techniques, which are combined to analyze situations that neither alone can accurately forecast.
Abstract: This book addresses two significant research areas in an interdependent fashion. It is first of all a comprehensive but concise text that covers the recently developed and widely applicable methods of qualitative choice analysis, illustrating the general theory through simulation models of automobile demand and use. It is also a detailed study of automobile demand and use, presenting forecasts based on these powerful new techniques. The book develops the general principles that underlie qualitative choice models that are now being applied in numerous fields in addition to transportation, such as housing, labor, energy, communications, and criminology. The general form, derivation, and estimation of qualitative choice models are explained, and the major models - logit, probit, and GEV - are discussed in detail. And continuous/discrete models are introduced. In these, qualitative choice methods and standard regression techniques are combined to analyze situations that neither alone can accurately forecast. Summarizing previous research on auto demand, the book shows how qualitative choice methods can be used by applying them to specific auto-related decisions as the aggregate of individuals' choices. The simulation model that is constructed is a significant improvement over older models, and should prove more useful to agencies and organizations requiring accurate forecasting of auto demand and use for planning and policy development. The book concludes with an actual case study based on a model designed for the investigations of the California Energy Commission.
726 citations