From Unidisciplinary to Multidisciplinary Rebound Research: Lessons Learned for Comprehensive Climate and Energy Policies

Abstract

This article presents how the rebound phenomenon has evolved from only being considered from a neoclassical economic perspective to include several other disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and industrial ecology. The intention is to show how different theoretical perspectives contribute to the scientific discourse about rebound effects. We summarize key findings from the various disciplinary strains of research and highlight new research questions and needs that arise. We discuss strengths and limitations of the expansion toward multidisciplinary rebound research and suggest that a further expansion toward transdisciplinary research could be valuable. We identify the "micro-macro discrepancy" and the "cause-effect relativity" as two general challenges that have to be taken into account when rebound research becomes increasingly multi-and transdisciplinary. In the final section of the article, we present lessons learned from multidisciplinary rebound research for policies and measures that aim to mitigate rebound effects. The main finding of this article is that if policymakers aim to make climate and energy policies as "rebound-proof" as possible, findings from both energy economics and multidisciplinary rebound research have to be taken into account.

Rationalizing Inconsistent Consumer Behavior. Understanding Pathways That Lead to Negative Spillover of Pro-environmental Behaviors in Daily Life

“…The type of economic decision making as described by the rebound effect only includes economic factors that affect consumption of the particular energy service. However, Santarius et al (2018) pointed out that over the years the rebound effect has evolved from being considered from a neoclassical economic perspective only, to including several other social scientific disciplines such as psychology and sociology. Nonetheless, research on psychological effects related to rebound effects is still limited.…”

Evaluating Low-Carbon Transportation Technologies When Demand Responds to Price

“…While we focus on the travel-related rebound effect in this paper, other types of rebound effects have been examined in energy economics ,,,,, and industrial ecology. − Savings from the reduced consumption of energy services in response to a price change can be spent on other goods and services leading to an “indirect” rebound effect . There can also be secondary effects on other sectors of the economy (e.g., a “macroeconomic” rebound effect). ,, Other social- and psychology-based rebound effects have been discussed elsewhere. , The quantitative effects of these indirect rebound effects (and even the signs) are highly uncertain, and thus they are not included in our analysis. We note that such indirect effects could be incorporated into the ACI in cases where their magnitudes can be reliably estimated.…”

“…26,90,91 Other social-and psychology-based rebound effects have been discussed elsewhere. 92,93 The quantitative effects of these indirect rebound effects (and even the signs) are highly uncertain, and thus they are not included in our analysis. We note that such indirect effects could be incorporated into the ACI in cases where their magnitudes can be reliably estimated.…”

Rebound effect and sustainability science: A review

“…In relation to industrial ecology, this field has been regarded as the science of sustainability (Ehrenfeld, 2004), and research further points to a growing unification between both fields based on their shared principles (Brent et al., 2008). Various works have analyzed the rebound literature according to broader framings related to industrial ecology (Hertwich, 2005), life cycle assessment (LCA) (Vivanco & van der Voet, 2014), psychology and sociology (Santarius & Soland, 2018; Santarius et al., 2018), non‐energy rebound (Vivanco et al., 2018), power relations in industry and politics (Galvin, 2020), and thermodynamic‐evolutionary theory (Ruzzenenti & Basosi, 2008). The explicit links between rebound effect research and sustainability science have not, however, been drawn, and current state‐of‐the‐art approaches are scattered across different disciplinary niches.…”