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Do vehicle efficiency improvements lead to energy savings? The rebound effect in Great Britain

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  • Craglia, Matteo
  • Cullen, Jonathan

Abstract

Fuel efficiency improvements in vehicles reduce the cost of travel, which could stimulate drivers to travel further limiting energy savings. Estimates of this effect, known as the rebound effect, have varied widely, partly due to data constraints and a reliance upon highly aggregated government statistics. This paper instead uses a dataset of over 275 million vehicle roadworthiness tests. The high level of detail in our dataset can reveal, for the first time, how the response to changes in travel costs may differ across types of vehicles and socio-economic areas in Great Britain.

Suggested Citation

  • Craglia, Matteo & Cullen, Jonathan, 2020. "Do vehicle efficiency improvements lead to energy savings? The rebound effect in Great Britain," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:88:y:2020:i:c:s0140988320301158
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2020.104775
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    9. Galvin, Ray & Martulli, Alessandro & Ruzzenenti, Franco, 2021. "Does power curb energy efficiency? Evidence from two decades of European truck tests," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
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