Moral Licensing—Another Source of Rebound?
The rebound effect denotes an offset in energy savings that occurs when an individual increases consumption of a good or service following an increase in its efficiency. It has both economic and psychological underpinnings: In addition to the price, income and substitution effects emphasized by econ...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2018-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Energy Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fenrg.2018.00038/full |
| _version_ | 1818701423748055040 |
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| author | Elisabeth Dütschke Manuel Frondel Manuel Frondel Joachim Schleich Joachim Schleich Colin Vance Colin Vance |
| author_facet | Elisabeth Dütschke Manuel Frondel Manuel Frondel Joachim Schleich Joachim Schleich Colin Vance Colin Vance |
| author_sort | Elisabeth Dütschke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The rebound effect denotes an offset in energy savings that occurs when an individual increases consumption of a good or service following an increase in its efficiency. It has both economic and psychological underpinnings: In addition to the price, income and substitution effects emphasized by economists, psychologists point to the influence of moral licensing, the cognitive process by which individuals justify immoral behavior (e.g., driving more) by having previously engaged in moral behavior (e.g., purchasing a more efficient car). The present review article provides a conceptual and empirical overview of moral licensing, drawing comparisons with economic explanations for the rebound effect. Based on a unifying theoretical model that illustrates how economic and psychological motivations trigger both rebound and moral licensing effects, as well as a review of microeconometric and experimental evidence, we conclude that consideration of moral licensing is warranted for judging the efficacy of policies targeted at energy consumption and the rebound effect. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T15:20:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-89247a9c5f5c4ebc82744c1823e3c1e7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-598X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T15:20:37Z |
| publishDate | 2018-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Energy Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-89247a9c5f5c4ebc82744c1823e3c1e72022-12-21T21:43:25ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Energy Research2296-598X2018-05-01610.3389/fenrg.2018.00038357818Moral Licensing—Another Source of Rebound?Elisabeth Dütschke0Manuel Frondel1Manuel Frondel2Joachim Schleich3Joachim Schleich4Colin Vance5Colin Vance6Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISIKarlsruhe, GermanyRWI Leibniz Institute for Economic ResearchEssen, GermanyRuhr University BochumBochum, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISIKarlsruhe, GermanyGrenoble Ecole de ManagementUniv Grenoble Alpes ComUE, Grenoble, FranceRWI Leibniz Institute for Economic ResearchEssen, GermanyJacobs University BremenBremen, GermanyThe rebound effect denotes an offset in energy savings that occurs when an individual increases consumption of a good or service following an increase in its efficiency. It has both economic and psychological underpinnings: In addition to the price, income and substitution effects emphasized by economists, psychologists point to the influence of moral licensing, the cognitive process by which individuals justify immoral behavior (e.g., driving more) by having previously engaged in moral behavior (e.g., purchasing a more efficient car). The present review article provides a conceptual and empirical overview of moral licensing, drawing comparisons with economic explanations for the rebound effect. Based on a unifying theoretical model that illustrates how economic and psychological motivations trigger both rebound and moral licensing effects, as well as a review of microeconometric and experimental evidence, we conclude that consideration of moral licensing is warranted for judging the efficacy of policies targeted at energy consumption and the rebound effect.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fenrg.2018.00038/fullsubstitution effectincome effectscale effectmoral licensingmoral cleansing |
| spellingShingle | Elisabeth Dütschke Manuel Frondel Manuel Frondel Joachim Schleich Joachim Schleich Colin Vance Colin Vance Moral Licensing—Another Source of Rebound? Frontiers in Energy Research substitution effect income effect scale effect moral licensing moral cleansing |
| title | Moral Licensing—Another Source of Rebound? |
| title_full | Moral Licensing—Another Source of Rebound? |
| title_fullStr | Moral Licensing—Another Source of Rebound? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Moral Licensing—Another Source of Rebound? |
| title_short | Moral Licensing—Another Source of Rebound? |
| title_sort | moral licensing another source of rebound |
| topic | substitution effect income effect scale effect moral licensing moral cleansing |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fenrg.2018.00038/full |
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