TY - BOOK
T1 - The Jevons Paradox and the Myth of Resource Efficiency Improvements
AU - Polimeni, John M.
AU - Mayumi, Kozo
AU - Giampietro, Mario
AU - Alcott, Blake
N1 - First published December 20, 2007 by Routledge (hardback, ISBN 9781844074624). Copyright year 2018.
Paperback (ISBN 9781138866959) published 25 June 2015.
e-Book (9781849773102) dated 20 December 2007.
PY - 2007/12/20
Y1 - 2007/12/20
N2 - © John M. Polimeni, Kozo Mayumi, Mario Giampietro and Blake Alcott, 2008 All rights reserved. ?The Jevons Paradox?, which was first expressed in 1865 by William Stanley Jevons in relation to use of coal, states that an increase in efficiency in using a resource leads to increased use of that resource rather than to a reduction. This has subsequently been proved to apply not just to fossil fuels, but other resource use scenarios. For example, doubling the efficiency of food production per hectare over the last 50 years (due to the Green Revolution) did not solve the problem of hunger. The increase in efficiency increased production and worsened hunger because of the resulting increase in population. The implications of this in today’s world are substantial. Many scientists and policymakers argue that future technological innovations will reduce consumption of resources; the Jevons Paradox explains why this may be a false hope. This is the first book to provide a historical overview of the Jevons Paradox, provide evidence for its existence and apply it to complex systems. Written and edited by world experts in the fields of economics, ecological economics, technology and the environment, it explains the myth of efficiency and explores its implications for resource usage (particularly oil). It is a must-read for policymakers, natural resource managers, academics and students concerned with the effects of efficiency on resource use.
AB - © John M. Polimeni, Kozo Mayumi, Mario Giampietro and Blake Alcott, 2008 All rights reserved. ?The Jevons Paradox?, which was first expressed in 1865 by William Stanley Jevons in relation to use of coal, states that an increase in efficiency in using a resource leads to increased use of that resource rather than to a reduction. This has subsequently been proved to apply not just to fossil fuels, but other resource use scenarios. For example, doubling the efficiency of food production per hectare over the last 50 years (due to the Green Revolution) did not solve the problem of hunger. The increase in efficiency increased production and worsened hunger because of the resulting increase in population. The implications of this in today’s world are substantial. Many scientists and policymakers argue that future technological innovations will reduce consumption of resources; the Jevons Paradox explains why this may be a false hope. This is the first book to provide a historical overview of the Jevons Paradox, provide evidence for its existence and apply it to complex systems. Written and edited by world experts in the fields of economics, ecological economics, technology and the environment, it explains the myth of efficiency and explores its implications for resource usage (particularly oil). It is a must-read for policymakers, natural resource managers, academics and students concerned with the effects of efficiency on resource use.
UR - https://www.routledge.com/The-Jevons-Paradox-and-the-Myth-of-Resource-Efficiency-Improvements/Polimeni-Mayumi/p/book/9781138866959
U2 - 10.4324/9781849773102
DO - 10.4324/9781849773102
M3 - Book
SN - 9781844074624
SN - 9781138866959
BT - The Jevons Paradox and the Myth of Resource Efficiency Improvements
ER -