IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v133y2019ics0301421519305105.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Revisiting Jevons's paradox of energy rebound: Policy implications and empirical evidence in consumer-oriented financial incentives from the Japanese automobile market, 2006–2016

Author

Listed:
  • Yoo, Sunbin
  • Koh, Kyung Woong
  • Yoshida, Yoshikuni
  • Wakamori, Naoki

Abstract

While the fuel economy of Japanese automobiles has improved by 40% in the past decade, gasoline consumption in the transportation sector from 2007 to 2016 only decreased by 4%. We seek to explain this discrepancy by investigating Japanese fuel economy standards and the financial incentives given to consumers of fuel-efficient cars. To do so, this study explores whether Japanese policies caused such a rebound effect, by employing the difference-in-difference framework. We find that these policies contribute to energy rebound effect, by enabling higher fuel consumption at lower costs and thus causing higher energy usages. We provide evidence that policies can increase not only fuel usage but also fuel costs. The main driving force behind the rebound effect is the increase in the sales of hybrid vehicles, induced by financial incentives.

Suggested Citation

  • Yoo, Sunbin & Koh, Kyung Woong & Yoshida, Yoshikuni & Wakamori, Naoki, 2019. "Revisiting Jevons's paradox of energy rebound: Policy implications and empirical evidence in consumer-oriented financial incentives from the Japanese automobile market, 2006–2016," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:133:y:2019:i:c:s0301421519305105
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.110923
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421519305105
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.110923?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wang, Jiayu & Quiggin, John & Wittwer, Glyn, 2019. "The rebound effect of the Australian proposed light vehicle fuel efficiency standards," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 73-84.
    2. de Haan, Peter & Mueller, Michel G. & Peters, Anja, 2006. "Does the hybrid Toyota Prius lead to rebound effects? Analysis of size and number of cars previously owned by Swiss Prius buyers," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(3), pages 592-605, June.
    3. Font Vivanco, David & Kemp, René & van der Voet, Ester, 2016. "How to deal with the rebound effect? A policy-oriented approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 114-125.
    4. Zhang, Yue-Jun & Peng, Hua-Rong & Liu, Zhao & Tan, Weiping, 2015. "Direct energy rebound effect for road passenger transport in China: A dynamic panel quantile regression approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 303-313.
    5. Hamamoto, Mitsutsugu, 2019. "An empirical study on the behavior of hybrid-electric vehicle purchasers," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 286-292.
    6. Kenneth A. Small & Kurt Van Dender, 2007. "Fuel Efficiency and Motor Vehicle Travel: The Declining Rebound Effect," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1), pages 25-52.
    7. Sprei, Frances & Karlsson, Sten, 2013. "Energy efficiency versus gains in consumer amenities—An example from new cars sold in Sweden," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 490-499.
    8. West, Jeremy & Hoekstra, Mark & Meer, Jonathan & Puller, Steven L., 2017. "Vehicle miles (not) traveled: Fuel economy requirements, vehicle characteristics, and household driving," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 65-81.
    9. Yoo, Sunbin & Yoshida, Yoshikuni, 2019. "Consumer preferences and financial incentives in the Japanese automobile industry," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 220-229.
    10. MacKenzie, Ian A. & Ohndorf, Markus, 2012. "Cap-and-trade, taxes, and distributional conflict," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 51-65.
    11. Philippe Barla & Bernard Lamonde & Luis Miranda-Moreno & Nathalie Boucher, 2009. "Traveled distance, stock and fuel efficiency of private vehicles in Canada: price elasticities and rebound effect," Transportation, Springer, vol. 36(4), pages 389-402, July.
    12. Clerides, Sofronis & Zachariadis, Theodoros, 2008. "The effect of standards and fuel prices on automobile fuel economy: An international analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 2657-2672, September.
    13. Li, Jianglong & Li, Aijun & Xie, Xuan, 2018. "Rebound effect of transportation considering additional capital costs and input-output relationships: The role of subsistence consumption and unmet demand," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 441-455.
    14. David L. Greene, 1990. "CAFE OR PRICE?: An Analysis of the Effects of Federal Fuel Economy Regulations and Gasoline Price on New Car MPG, 1978-89," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3), pages 37-58.
    15. A. Greening, Lorna & Greene, David L. & Difiglio, Carmen, 2000. "Energy efficiency and consumption -- the rebound effect -- a survey," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(6-7), pages 389-401, June.
    16. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275.
    17. Lu-Yi Qiu & Ling-Yun He, 2017. "Can Green Traffic Policies Affect Air Quality? Evidence from A Difference-in-Difference Estimation in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-10, June.
    18. Creutzig, Felix & McGlynn, Emily & Minx, Jan & Edenhofer, Ottmar, 2011. "Climate policies for road transport revisited (I): Evaluation of the current framework," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 2396-2406, May.
    19. Stepp, Matthew D. & Winebrake, James J. & Hawker, J. Scott & Skerlos, Steven J., 2009. "Greenhouse gas mitigation policies and the transportation sector: The role of feedback effects on policy effectiveness," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(7), pages 2774-2787, July.
    20. Sanya Carley & Elizabeth Baldwin & Lauren M. MacLean & Jennifer N. Brass, 2017. "Global Expansion of Renewable Energy Generation: An Analysis of Policy Instruments," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 68(2), pages 397-440, October.
    21. Greene, David L., 2012. "Rebound 2007: Analysis of U.S. light-duty vehicle travel statistics," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 14-28.
    22. Moshiri, Saeed & Aliyev, Kamil, 2017. "Rebound effect of efficiency improvement in passenger cars on gasoline consumption in Canada," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 330-341.
    23. Dahl, Carol & Sterner, Thomas, 1991. "Analysing gasoline demand elasticities: a survey," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 203-210, July.
    24. Dimitropoulos, Alexandros & Oueslati, Walid & Sintek, Christina, 2018. "The rebound effect in road transport: A meta-analysis of empirical studies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 163-179.
    25. Ahn, Jiwoon & Jeong, Gicheol & Kim, Yeonbae, 2008. "A forecast of household ownership and use of alternative fuel vehicles: A multiple discrete-continuous choice approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 2091-2104, September.
    26. Hird, Mackenzie D. & Pfotenhauer, Sebastian M., 2017. "How complex international partnerships shape domestic research clusters: Difference-in-difference network formation and research re-orientation in the MIT Portugal Program," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 557-572.
    27. De Borger, Bruno & Mulalic, Ismir & Rouwendal, Jan, 2016. "Measuring the rebound effect with micro data: A first difference approach," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1-17.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chenavaz, Régis Y. & Dimitrov, Stanko & Figge, Frank, 2021. "When does eco-efficiency rebound or backfire? An analytical model," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 290(2), pages 687-700.
    2. Yoo, Sunbin & Koh, Kyung Woong & Yoshida, Yoshikuni, 2020. "Are consumers abandoning diesel automobiles because of contrasting diesel policies? Evidence from the Korean automobile market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    3. Yahong Jiang & Qunqi Wu & Min Li & Yulei Gu & Jun Yang, 2023. "What Is Affecting the Popularity of New Energy Vehicles? A Systematic Review Based on the Public Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-29, September.
    4. Wang, Kai-Hua & Su, Chi-Wei & Xiao, Yidong & Liu, Lu, 2022. "Is the oil price a barometer of China's automobile market? From a wavelet-based quantile-on-quantile regression perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    5. Kong, Deyang & Xia, Quhong & Xue, Yixi & Zhao, Xin, 2020. "Effects of multi policies on electric vehicle diffusion under subsidy policy abolishment in China: A multi-actor perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    6. Konishi, Yoshifumi & Kuroda, Sho, 2023. "Why is Japan’s carbon emissions from road transportation declining?," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    7. Yuan, Zhen & Xu, Jie & Li, Bing & Yao, Tingting, 2022. "Limits of technological progress in controlling energy consumption: Evidence from the energy rebound effects across China's industrial sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    8. Rasti-Barzoki, Morteza & Moon, Ilkyeong, 2021. "A game theoretic approach for analyzing electric and gasoline-based vehicles’ competition in a supply chain under government sustainable strategies: A case study of South Korea," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    9. Wang, Jiayu & Yu, Shuao & Liu, Tiansen, 2021. "A theoretical analysis of the direct rebound effect caused by energy efficiency improvement of private consumers," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 171-181.
    10. Jarke-Neuert, Johannes & Perino, Grischa, 2020. "Energy efficiency promotion backfires under cap-and-trade," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    11. Rasti-Barzoki, Morteza & Moon, Ilkyeong, 2020. "A game theoretic approach for car pricing and its energy efficiency level versus governmental sustainability goals by considering rebound effect: A case study of South Korea," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dimitropoulos, Alexandros & Oueslati, Walid & Sintek, Christina, 2018. "The rebound effect in road transport: A meta-analysis of empirical studies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 163-179.
    2. Jafari, Mahboubeh & Stern, David I. & Bruns, Stephan B., 2022. "How large is the economy-wide rebound effect in middle income countries? Evidence from Iran," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    3. Greene, David L. & Sims, Charles B. & Muratori, Matteo, 2020. "Two trillion gallons: Fuel savings from fuel economy improvements to US light-duty vehicles, 1975–2018," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    4. Lu-Yi Qiu & Ling-Yun He, 2017. "Are Chinese Green Transport Policies Effective? A New Perspective from Direct Pollution Rebound Effect, and Empirical Evidence From the Road Transport Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-11, March.
    5. De Borger, Bruno & Mulalic, Ismir & Rouwendal, Jan, 2016. "Measuring the rebound effect with micro data: A first difference approach," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1-17.
    6. González, Rosa Marina & Marrero, Gustavo A. & Rodríguez-López, Jesús & Marrero, Ángel S., 2019. "Analyzing CO2 emissions from passenger cars in Europe: A dynamic panel data approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 1271-1281.
    7. Liu, Hongxun & Du, Kerui & Li, Jianglong, 2019. "An improved approach to estimate direct rebound effect by incorporating energy efficiency: A revisit of China's industrial energy demand," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 720-730.
    8. Greene, David L. & Greenwald, Judith M. & Ciez, Rebecca E., 2020. "U.S. fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards: What have they achieved and what have we learned?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    9. Sun, Shanxia & Delgado, Michael & Khanna, Neha, 2017. "Hybrid Vehicles and Household Driving Behavior: Implications for Miles Traveled and Gasoline Consumption," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258502, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    10. Wen, Fenghua & Ye, Zhengke & Yang, Huaidong & Li, Ke, 2018. "Exploring the rebound effect from the perspective of household: An analysis of China's provincial level," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 345-356.
    11. Sylvain Weber & Mehdi Farsi, 2014. "Travel distance, fuel efficiency, and vehicle weight: An estimation of the rebound effect using individual data in Switzerland," IRENE Working Papers 14-03, IRENE Institute of Economic Research.
    12. Moshiri, Saeed, 2020. "Consumer responses to gasoline price and non-price policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    13. Yeh, Sonia & Burtraw, Dallas & Sterner, Thomas & Greene, David, 2021. "Tradable performance standards in the transportation sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    14. Yoo, Sunbin & Koh, Kyung Woong & Yoshida, Yoshikuni, 2020. "Are consumers abandoning diesel automobiles because of contrasting diesel policies? Evidence from the Korean automobile market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    15. Li, Jianglong & Li, Aijun & Xie, Xuan, 2018. "Rebound effect of transportation considering additional capital costs and input-output relationships: The role of subsistence consumption and unmet demand," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 441-455.
    16. Greene, David L., 2012. "Rebound 2007: Analysis of U.S. light-duty vehicle travel statistics," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 14-28.
    17. Lu-Yi Qiu & Ling-Yun He, 2016. "Are Chinese transport policies effective? A new perspective from direct pollution rebound effect, and empirical evidence from road transport sector," Papers 1612.02653, arXiv.org.
    18. Rongxin Wu & Boqiang Lin, 2022. "Does Energy Efficiency Realize Energy Conservation in the Iron and Steel Industry? A Perspective of Energy Rebound Effect," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-20, September.
    19. Chen, Zhenni & Du, Huibin & Li, Jianglong & Southworth, Frank & Ma, Shoufeng, 2019. "Achieving low-carbon urban passenger transport in China: Insights from the heterogeneous rebound effect," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 1029-1041.
    20. Zhang, Yue-Jun & Liu, Zhao & Qin, Chang-Xiong & Tan, Tai-De, 2017. "The direct and indirect CO2 rebound effect for private cars in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 149-161.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Hybrid electric vehicle; Rebound effect; Jevons's paradox; Energy backfires; Energy policy evaluations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L62 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Automobiles; Other Transportation Equipment; Related Parts and Equipment
    • Q40 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - General
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:133:y:2019:i:c:s0301421519305105. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.