Showing papers on "Consumption (economics) published in 2016"

The sharing economy: Why people participate in collaborative consumption

Abstract: Information and communications technologies ICTs have enabled the rise of so-called "Collaborative Consumption" CC: the peer-to-peer-based activity of obtaining, giving, or sharing the access to goods and services, coordinated through community-based online services. CC has been expected to alleviate societal problems such as hyper-consumption, pollution, and poverty by lowering the cost of economic coordination within communities. However, beyond anecdotal evidence, there is a dearth of understanding why people participate in CC. Therefore, in this article we investigate people's motivations to participate in CC. The study employs survey data N=168 gathered from people registered onto a CC site. The results show that participation in CC is motivated by many factors such as its sustainability, enjoyment of the activity as well as economic gains. An interesting detail in the result is that sustainability is not directly associated with participation unless it is at the same time also associated with positive attitudes towards CC. This suggests that sustainability might only be an important factor for those people for whom ecological consumption is important. Furthermore, the results suggest that in CC an attitude-behavior gap might exist; people perceive the activity positively and say good things about it, but this good attitude does not necessary translate into action.

Energy justice : a conceptual review

Abstract: Energy justice has emerged as a new crosscutting social science research agenda which seeks to apply justice principles to energy policy, energy production and systems, energy consumption, energy activism, energy security and climate change. A conceptual review is now required for the consolidation and logical extension of this field. Within this exploration, we give an account of its core tenets: distributional, recognition and procedural. Later we promote the application of this three-pronged approach across the energy system, within the global context of energy production and consumption. Thus, we offer both a conceptual review and a research agenda. Throughout, we explore the key dimensions of this new agenda – its evaluative and normative reach – demonstrating that energy justice offers, firstly, an opportunity to explore where injustices occur, developing new processes of avoidance and remediation and recognizing new sections of society. Secondly, we illustrate that energy justice provides a new stimulating framework for bridging existing and future research on energy production and consumption when whole energy systems approaches are integrated into research designs. In conclusion, we suggest three areas for future research: investigating the non-activist origins of energy justice, engaging with economics, and uniting systems of production and consumption.

Using Weather Variability To Estimate the Response of Savings to Transitory Income in Thailand

Abstract: This paper measures the extent to which farmers are able to use savings and dissavings to smooth consumption in response to unexpected shocks to income Time-series information on regional rainfall is used to construct estimates of transitory income due to rainfall shocks The relationship between these measures of transitory income and savings indicates that farm households save a significantly higher fraction of transitory income than nontransitory income (JEL D91, 016) The incomes of farm households in developing countries are notorious for being both low and uncertain Policies that increase the incomes of farmers may well be different

Legislative smoking bans for reducing harms from secondhand smoke exposure, smoking prevalence and tobacco consumption

Abstract: Smoking bans have been implemented in a variety of settings, as well as being part of policy in many jurisdictions to protect the public and employees from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke (SHS). They also offer the potential to influence social norms and the smoking behaviour of those populations they affect. Since the first version of this review in 2010, more countries have introduced national smoking legislation banning indoor smoking.

The long-run poverty and gender impacts of mobile money.

Abstract: Mobile money, a service that allows monetary value to be stored on a mobile phone and sent to other users via text messages, has been adopted by the vast majority of Kenyan households. We estimate that access to the Kenyan mobile money system M-PESA increased per capita consumption levels and lifted 194,000 households, or 2% of Kenyan households, out of poverty. The impacts, which are more pronounced for female-headed households, appear to be driven by changes in financial behavior-in particular, increased financial resilience and saving-and labor market outcomes, such as occupational choice, especially for women, who moved out of agriculture and into business. Mobile money has therefore increased the efficiency of the allocation of consumption over time while allowing a more efficient allocation of labor, resulting in a meaningful reduction of poverty in Kenya.

Environmental Impact Assessment of Household Consumption

Abstract: We analyze the environmental impact of household consumption in terms of the material, water, and land-use requirements, as well as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, associated with the production and use of products and services consumed by these households. Using the new EXIOBASE 2.2 multiregional input-output database, which describes the world economy at the detail of 43 countries, five rest-of-the-world regions, and 200 product sectors, we are able to trace the origin of the products consumed by households and represent global supply chains for 2007. We highlight the importance of environmental pressure arising from households with their consumption contributing to more than 60% of global GHG emissions and between 50% and 80% of total land, material, and water use. The footprints are unevenly distributed across regions, with wealthier countries generating the most significant impacts per capita. Elasticities suggest a robust and significant relationship between households’ expenditure and their environmental impacts, driven by a rising demand of nonprimary consumption items. Mobility, shelter, and food are the most important consumption categories across the environmental footprints. Globally, food accounts for 48% and 70% of household impacts on land and water resources, respectively, with consumption of meat, dairy, and processed food rising fast with income. Shelter and mobility stand out with high carbon and material intensity, whereas the significance of services for footprints relates to the large amount of household expenditure associated with them.

Monetary Policy According to HANK

Abstract: We revisit the transmission mechanism of monetary policy for household consumption in a Heterogeneous Agent New Keynesian (HANK) model. The model yields empirically realistic distributions of household wealth and marginal propensities to consume because of two key features: multiple assets with different degrees of liquidity and an idiosyncratic income process with leptokurtic income changes. In this environment, the indirect effects of an unexpected cut in interest rates, which operate through a general equilibrium increase in labor demand, far outweigh direct effects such as intertemporal substitution. This finding is in stark contrast to small- and medium-scale Representative Agent New Keynesian (RANK) economies, where intertemporal substitution drives virtually all of the transmission from interest rates to consumption.

Rational Addiction and the Effect of Price on Consumption

Abstract: Legalization of such substances as marijuana, heroin, and cocaine surely will reduce the prices of these harmful addictive drugs. By the law of the downward-sloping demand function, their consumption will rise. But by how much? According to conventional wisdom, the consumption of these illegal addictive substances is not responsive to price. However, conventional wisdom is contradicted by Becker and Murphy's (1988) theoretical model of rational addiction. The Becker-Murphy (B-M) analysis implies that addictive substances are likely to be quite responsive to price. In this paper, we summarize B-M's model of rational addiction and the empirical evidence in support of it. We use the theory and evidence to draw highly tentative inferences concerning the effects of legalization of currently banned substances on consumption in the aggregate and for selected groups in the population. Addictive behavior is usually assumed to involve both "reinforcement" and "tolerance." Reinforcement means that greater past consumption of addictive goods, such as drugs or cigarettes, increases the desire for present consumption. But tolerance cautions that the utility from a given amount of consumption is lower when past consumption is greater. These aspects of addictive behavior imply

Consumption inequality and family labor supply

Abstract: We examine the link between wage and consumption inequality using a life-cycle model incorporating consumption and family labor supply decisions. We derive analytical expressions for the dynamics of consumption, hours, and earnings of two earners in the presence of correlated wage shocks, nonseparability, progressive taxation, and asset accumulation. The model is estimated using panel data for hours, earnings, assets, and consumption. We focus on family labor supply as an insurance mechanism and find strong evidence of smoothing of permanent wage shocks. Once family labor supply, assets, and taxes are properly accounted for there is little evidence of additional insurance. (JEL D12, D14, D91, J22, J31)

Substantial nitrogen pollution embedded in international trade

Abstract: Anthropogenic emissions of reactive nitrogen have had severe environmental impacts. An analysis of reactive nitrogen emissions from the production, consumption and transport of commodities attributes roughly a quarter to international trade. Anthropogenic emissions of reactive nitrogen to the atmosphere and water bodies can damage human health and ecosystems1,2. As a measure of a nation’s contribution to this potential damage, a country’s nitrogen footprint has been defined as the quantity of reactive nitrogen emitted during the production, consumption and transportation of commodities consumed within that country, whether those commodities are produced domestically or internationally3. Here we use global emissions databases4,5, a global nitrogen cycle model6, and a global input–output database of domestic and international trade7,8 to calculate the nitrogen footprints for 188 countries as the sum of emissions of ammonia, nitrogen oxides and nitrous oxide to the atmosphere, and of nitrogen potentially exportable to water bodies. Per-capita footprints range from under 7 kg N yr−1 in some developing countries to over 100 kg N yr−1 in some wealthy nations. Consumption in China, India, the United States and Brazil is responsible for 46% of global emissions. Roughly a quarter of the global nitrogen footprint is from commodities that were traded across country borders. The main net exporters have significant agricultural, food and textile exports, and are often developing countries, whereas important net importers are almost exclusively developed economies. We conclude that substantial local nitrogen pollution is driven by demand from consumers in other countries.

Exploring the relationship between urbanization, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions in different provinces of China

Abstract: Unlike previous studies, this paper empirically investigates the impact of urbanization on energy consumption and CO 2 emissions with consideration of provincial differences. The results show the following: (1) Urbanization increases energy consumption and CO 2 emissions in China, but it is not the most outstanding contributor to the increases. (2) Significant differences exist between provinces in terms of the impact of urbanization on energy consumption and CO 2 emissions. The distribution of urbanization strongly and relatively strongly affects energy consumption in regions with high-urbanization areas but also those with low-urbanization areas. Meanwhile, urbanization strongly and relatively strongly affects the regional CO 2 emissions in northern China, where the major coal production areas, characterized by an energy-guzzling heavy industry base, are located. (3) Some evidence supports the arguments of urban environmental transition theory. Cities at a post-industrial stage (such as Beijing and Shanghai) experience a large effect from urbanization because of higher energy consumption in private residential and public service sectors, while in western and central China, the impact of urbanization can be associated with industrial development, which is characterized by low energy efficiency, high energy consumption and high emissions. In eastern China, the coexistence of light industrial structures and rapid urbanization has led to a smaller impact from urbanization on energy consumption and CO 2 emissions than in the other two regions.

The values and motivations behind sustainable fashion consumption

Abstract: The growth in ethical consumption behaviour and greater interest in sustainable fashion from a production side provides grounding for the emergence of a new consumer market for sustainable fashion. To date, however, most studies in this field focus on the production end of the emerging market, with little exploration of the consumers. Of the work, there is on sustainable fashion consumption; the majority discuss perceptions of sustainable fashion by the general population, with little work sampling actual consumers of sustainable fashion. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the values and motivations underpinning actual sustainable fashion consumption. Thirty-nine in-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of frequent sustainable clothing consumers. The study follows a means-end theory approach linking purchased products back to purchasing criteria and personal values. This study therefore contributes to the overall understanding of sustainable fashion consumption and gives insights into purchasing criteria and behavioural choices of sustainable fashion consumers.

Demographic determinants of household energy use in the United States

Abstract: Projections of energy demand over the coming decades are critically important to understanding and anticipating future resource requirements and environmental impacts such as acid rain, local air pollution, and climate change (e.g., Nakicenovic et al. 2000). Household consumption of energy for space heating and cooling, lighting, appliances, transportation, and other energy services is a key driver of national energy demand. A number of demographic factors such as population size, age structure, and levels of urbanization have potentially important direct and indirect influences on household demand. For example, aging may have direct consequences since energy consumption tends to change over the lifespan (Yamasaki and Tominaga 1997); aging could also have indirect impacts through an associated decline in household size and consequently a loss of economies of scale in energy use at the household level. However, the treatment of population-related variables in energy projections has been essentially limited to considerations of changes in population size alone (O'Neill, MacKellar, and Lutz 2001; Gaffin 1998), even though significant changes in other factors, especially age structure, are anticipated in all regions of the world. Improvements to the development of credible projections of energy demand through a better understanding of demographic determinants of energy use would be valuable for several reasons. First, they would clarify the outlook for the potential range of projected environmental consequences of energy-related emissions. Second, they would allow better estimates of the costs of reducing emissions, which are sensitive to baseline emissions projections. Cost estimates play a key role in the current debate over appropriate climate change policy. And third, understanding energy demand across different demographic groups can help assess the potential distributional effects of emissions-reduction efforts. We first briefly review the principal approaches to the incorporation of demographic factors in current studies of energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions, as well as recent work on determinants of household energy use. We then present a case study of demographic influences on household energy consumption in the United States....

Beyond GDP? Welfare across Countries and Time

Abstract: We propose a simple summary statistic for a nation’s flow of welfare, measured as a consumption equivalent, and compute its level and growth rate for a broad set of countries. This welfare metric combines data on consumption, leisure, inequality, andmortality. Althoughitishighly correlatedwithpercapita GDP, deviations are often economically significant: Western Europe looks considerably closer to U.S. living standards, emerging Asia has not caught up as much, and many African and Latin American countries appear farther behind. Each of the four components we introduce plays an important role in accounting for these differences.

Evolution of Well-Being and Happiness After Increases in Consumption of Fruit and Vegetables

Abstract: Objectives. To explore whether improvements in psychological well-being occur after increases in fruit and vegetable consumption. Methods. We examined longitudinal food diaries of 12 385 randomly sampled Australian adults over 2007, 2009, and 2013 in the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. We adjusted effects on incident changes in happiness and life satisfaction for people’s changing incomes and personal circumstances. Results. Increased fruit and vegetable consumption was predictive of increased happiness, life satisfaction, and well-being. They were up to 0.24 life-satisfaction points (for an increase of 8 portions a day), which is equal in size to the psychological gain of moving from unemployment to employment. Improvements occurred within 24 months. Conclusions. People’s motivation to eat healthy food is weakened by the fact that physical health benefits accrue decades later, but well-being improvements from increased consumption of fruit and vegetables are closer to immediate. Policy implications. Citizens could be shown evidence that “happiness” gains from healthy eating can occur quickly and many years before enhanced physical health.

Macroeconomics and Household Heterogeneity

Abstract: The goal of this chapter is to study how, and by how much, household income, wealth, and preference heterogeneity amplify and propagate a macroeconomic shock. We focus on the US Great Recession of 2007–09 and proceed in two steps. First, using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we document the patterns of household income, consumption, and wealth inequality before and during the Great Recession. We then investigate how households in different segments of the wealth distribution were affected by income declines, and how they changed their expenditures differentially during the aggregate downturn. Motivated by this evidence, we study several variants of a standard heterogeneous household model with aggregate shocks and an endogenous cross-sectional wealth distribution. Our key finding is that wealth inequality can significantly amplify the impact of an aggregate shock, and it does so if the distribution features a sufficiently large fraction of households with very little net worth that sharply increase their saving (ie, they are not hand-to mouth) as the recession hits. We document that both these features are observed in the PSID. We also investigate the role that social insurance policies, such as unemployment insurance, play in shaping the cross-sectional income and wealth distribution, and through it, the dynamics of business cycles.