Rebound effect (conservation)

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In energy conservation and energy economics, the rebound effect (or take-back effect) is the reduction in expected gains from new technologies that increase the efficiency of resource use, because of behavioral or other systemic responses. These responses diminish the beneficial effects of the new technology or other measures taken. A definition of the rebound effect is provided by Thiesen et al. (2008) as, "the rebound effect deals with the fact that improvements in efficiency often lead to cost reductions that provide the possibility to buy more of the improved product or other products or services." A classic example from this perspective is a driver who substitutes a vehicle with a fuel-efficient version, only to reap the benefits of its lower operating expenses to commute longer and more frequently." While the rebound effect is often expressed through indicators of interest such as resource use or broader environmental issues, the effect is measured by changes in consumption and/or production. A body of scientific literature argues that improvements in technological efficiency and efficiency improvements in general have induced increases in consumption. Generally, economists and researchers seem to agree that there exists a rebound effect, but they disagree about its volume and importance. While the literature on the rebound effect generally focuses on the effect of technological improvements on energy consumption, the theory can also be applied to the use of any natural resource or other input, such as labor. The rebound effect is generally expressed as a ratio of the lost benefit compared to the expected environmental benefit when holding consumption constant. For instance, if a 5% improvement in vehicle fuel efficiency results in only a 2% drop in fuel use, there is a 60% rebound effect (since (5-2)⁄5 = 60%). The 'missing' 3% might have been consumed by driving faster or further...