Consumption Gap Research Articles

Which factor contributes more to the fuel consumption gap between in-laboratory vs. real-world driving conditions? An independent component analysis

A widening vehicle fuel consumption gap has been found between in-laboratory and real-world driving conditions, which can undermine policy-making concerning energy saving and greenhouse gas reduction. Various factors have been identified as contributors to the gap; however, their contributions have not been independently assessed, which hinders the gap's narrowing. This study confirmed an average gap of 42% based on 0.95 billion records of second-by-second vehicle operating (speed, acceleration, etc.) and fuel consumption data collected from 395 light-duty vehicles through On-board Diagnostics (OBD) devices in Beijing. Contributions of fuel consumption rate (FCR)-related, engine load-related, and road grade discrepancies between the in-laboratory test procedure vs. real-world driving conditions to the gap were independently assessed. Results indicated that the FCR-related, engine load-related, and road grade discrepancies contributed 20.7%, 17.0%, and 3.2% to the gap, respectively (only 1.0% of the gap has not been explained). Replacing the test cycle from the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) with the China Light-duty vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC-P) has the potential to reduce the engine load-related gap from 17.0% to 6.9% in Beijing. Policies should focus on developing more local test procedures or recording real-world fuel consumption through onboard devices to evaluate vehicle economy with higher reality representation.

Globalization and regional consumption disparity in China: A disaggregated analysis

Developing countries are increasingly concerned about globalization's impact on regional disparities. This paper looks at the relationship between globalization and regional (rural-urban) differences in consumption in China. It does this by separating globalization into the trade of domestic-invested enterprises (DIEs) and the trade of foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs). Feasible generalized least square (FGLS) is used for empirical analysis based on panel diagnostics. For the robustness of the findings, we also employed panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) model. The results show a reduction in China's regional (i.e., urban-rural) consumption disparity (RCD) caused by both DIEs and FIEs trade perspectives. The impact of FIEs trade on regional disparity is higher than that of DIEs trade, reflecting the fact that FIEs are predominantly labor-intensive. Our findings are robust and unaffected by the type of trade disaggregation or the econometric techniques used (i.e., FGLS and PCSE). However, the results for the three regions differ depending on the type of trade disaggregation. To achieve the goal of economic development and closing the regional consumption gap, the government must pay close attention to the distribution effects of FIEs and DIEs trade separately and implement a set of measures to reinforce its strengths and mitigate its weaknesses.

Intention-behavior gap in greener consumption among young Sri Lankan consumers

In today’s world, we heavily rely on natural resources for activities, business, and survival. We are consuming resources at an unsustainable rate. However, our planet can only produce a finite number of resources and can only withstand a certain degree of greenhouse gas emissions. With the unbearable increase in natural resource consumption and green gas emissions, we are forced to experience various global challenges including climate change, desertification, lack of resources, loss of biodiversity, land degradation, etc. There is a burgeoning movement to adopt sustainable practices to mitigate these adverse consequences. Some companies have even developed sustainability programs, guidelines and plans to achieve sustainable goals [1]. Specifically, people are moving towards green consumption. As a result, studies on green consumption have emerged as a significant new frontier over the past few years attracting attention from both academics and professionals.

Environmental corporate social responsibility initiatives and the attitude-intention-behavior gap in green consumption

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to use the theory of planned behavior and a moderated mediation model to bridge the gap between attitude, intention and behavior in the context of green consumption. The study will focus on how environmental corporate social responsibility initiatives play a positive moderating role in the mediation effect of green purchase intention on the relationship between attitude toward green products and environmentally friendly purchasing behavior.Design/methodology/approachA representative sample of 583 consumers was gathered from five major cities in Vietnam using a mall-intercept survey method. The moderated mediation model and the formulated hypotheses were tested using the PROCESS macro.FindingsThe results of our study reveal that green purchase intention is not only positively and directly associated with environmentally friendly purchase behavior but also significantly mediated the green purchase attitude–behavior link. Environmental corporate social responsibility initiatives were found to positively moderate the direct effect of attitude toward green products on green purchase intention. More importantly, our study also yielded that the mediation effect of green purchase intention on the relationship between attitude toward green products and environmentally friendly purchase behavior is positively moderated by environmental corporate social responsibility initiatives. As such, the indirect impact of environmentally friendly purchase attitude on green purchase behavior through green purchase intention was stronger when the level of environmental corporate social responsibility initiatives was higher.Practical implicationsThe results of this study have practical implications and offer valuable recommendations for marketing practitioners, administrators and policymakers. These recommendations can help promote corporate social responsibility practices among firms, encourage environmentally friendly consumption among consumers and contribute to the overall sustainable development of the country.Originality/valueThis study has made significant contributions to the existing literature on pro-environmental behavior by addressing the gap between attitude, intention and behavior in sustainable consumption. Furthermore, to the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to use a moderated mediation model to shed light on the moderating effect of environmental corporate social responsibility initiatives on the direct and mediated relationships among attitude, intention and behavior in the context of green consumption.

Corporate average fuel consumption evaluation and non-compliance disaggregation based on real-world data

A widening gap between official and real-world fuel consumption of passenger cars has been reported worldwide. However, previous policy evaluation has not adequately incorporated real-world performance. To comprehensively evaluate China’s Corporate Average Fuel Consumption (CAFC) policy, we update the fuel consumption gap with millions of consumer-reported records and calculate CAFC and evaluate the national average fuel consumption (NAFC) under four scenarios. The results show that China’s fuel consumption gap has reached 37%. The average CAFC decreases from 6.72 L/100 km in 2016 to 5.91 L/100 km in 2020, far slower than the rated performance. The real-world NAFC non-compliance is disaggregated into on-road discrepancy (2.5 L/100 km), new-energy discounts (0.4 L/100 km), lightweight impacts (0.3 L/100 km), and additional technology improvements (0.8 L/100 km). This study can improve the state-of-the-art understanding of the real-world fuel consumption of passenger cars in China, thus calling for a more real-world-featured regulation system.

Paths that lead astray: Examining the situational predictors of intention-behaviour gaps in meat consumption

In many countries around the world, significant proportions of consumers report intentions to reduce their meat consumption. If followed through on, the intentions of these meat reducers could yield substantial environmental, health and animal welfare benefits. Existing research warns, however, that good intentions often go astray. In the current study, we examine the prevalence of intentions to reduce meat consumption in a representative sample of 1492 UK residents. We then investigate the situational correlates of intention-behaviour gaps in meat consumption among a group of 633 people with intentions to reduce their intake in a longitudinal survey involving event reconstruction exercises. Through these exercises, we collect data on the objective situational cues and psychological situational characteristics that predict when this group desired, ate and regretted eating meat during 2777 meal episodes. The results indicate that situational factors are predictive of the range of outcomes of interest. Situations that lend themselves to hedonic, rather than instrumental style, consumption, (e.g., non-routine meals, when the situation is perceived as being pleasant and when taste and craving are important decision factors), eating outside the home in cafés and restaurants and over at family or friend's homes and eating in the presence of others who are eating meat when are particularly predictive of intention-behaviour gaps. The findings highlight the need for intervention work which targets these situations to help meat reducers act as they intend.

The economic and social effects of skill mismatch in China: A DSGE model with skill and firm heterogeneity

This paper examines the economic and social effects of skill mismatch by analyzing its impacts on the diffusion channels of skilled labor market search and matching efficiency shock. By presenting and estimating an NK-DSGE model using the macro-data from China, we find that skill mismatch reduces the unemployment of skilled labor by exerting a significant “crowding out” effect on the employment of unskilled labor. The resulting distortion of human resource allocation has widened the income and consumption gap between groups. We also consider the possibility of skill degradation induced by skill mismatch, which reduces the welfare loss of skilled labor at the cost of welfare deterioration of the unskilled. Both skill mismatch and skill degradation weaken the industrial structure by aggravating the labor shortage of high-tech enterprises. These findings imply that China's labor market reform should aim to alleviate skill mismatch and degradation.

Policy and action plan to increase national sugar production

As a national strategic commodity, sugar sufficiency has become one of the government’s priorities. However, until recently, Indonesia is still experiencing a deficit in sugar due to production and consumption gaps. This paper aims to assess the performance of national sugar production and consumption and the government’s efforts to overcome the shortage. This study used primary and secondary data. Descriptive qualitative and Grid analysis was employed, supported by a literature review from various relevant sources. The study results show that during the 2015–2020 period, national sugar consumption was higher than its production. The low national sugar production was due to (1) a decrease in sugarcane area, (2) stagnation of sugarcane yield and sugar content, (3) not optimal process of modernization and revitalization of sugar mills, and (4) policies related to trade and prices of sugarcane and sugar. Out of nine policy options to increase sugarcane yield, the use of sugarcane seedlings of high-yielding varieties has become a priority policy. An action plan is required to support such policy, i.e., structuring of variety; coordination, technical guidance, socialization, and extension; and government assistance programs, especially capital aid.

Green energy: current state and prospects

The article is devoted to the study of the current state of green energy, characteristics of its various types and prospects for development. Green energy is a part of the energy production system that uses renewable energy sources. The most common types of green energy are photovoltaic conversion of solar energy and the use of wind energy. Less well known are technologies for using marine tidal energy and wave energy from the sea surf. There are such exotic green energy projects as reverse osmosis, one-way diffusion − using the interaction of fresh and salt water to generate electricity by raising wind turbines into the upper stratosphere in the form of airships (such projects are currently being developed in Alaska). It is obvious that renewable energy sources do not pollute the environment, help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change. They are virtually inexhaustible, while fossil fuels will eventually run out. Today, the reality of green energy is as follows. Globally, about 1 % of electricity is generated by solar installations and just over 2 % by wind turbines. If we consider not only electricity, but all the energy produced, the share of green energy, despite its rapid development over the past decade, is now about 5 %. Globally, the growth of installed solar and wind power capacity is doubling every four years. The main purpose of the article is to conduct a critical comparative analysis of published data on energy consumption in Europe and the world, based on the need to significantly reduce the gap in energy consumption per capita in developed countries. A review of the effectiveness of the use of various energy sources in machine building, shipbuilding and ship repair in the world as a whole was also carried out in the direction of developing practical recommendations for creating an effective process of performing logistical tasks in transport using alternative energy sources. It is known that traditional sources such as oil, gas and other minerals are gradually becoming more expensive. That is why solar panels, wind farms, and hydroelectric power plants are becoming so popular today as new sources of alternative or green energy. Let us emphasize the role of hydrogen energy. Hydrogen can be used in the large power industry, while it can replace natural gas and oil products, in transport; in the sector of buildings (for heat and power supply, including autonomous, with the replacement of natural gas or oil products); in industry − as a raw material and a substitute for traditional hydrocarbons.

Nonlinear Effect of Digital Economy on Urban–Rural Consumption Gap: Evidence from a Dynamic Panel Threshold Analysis

Reducing the disparity in consumption between urban and rural areas, as a critical component in mitigating the economic imbalance between them, holds significant importance in enhancing people’s sense of well-being and achieving collective prosperity. This research investigated the nonlinear impact of the digital economy and its sub-dimensions, including digital industrialization, industrial digitization, and the digital environment, on the urban–rural consumption disparity. We employed a systematic GMM and a dynamic panel threshold regression model and utilized dynamic panel data from 30 provinces in China. Our research reveals that the impact of digital economic development on the urban–rural consumption gap displays an inverted U-shaped nonlinear relationship of widening and then narrowing. This effect is primarily determined by the process of digital industrialization. The digital economy exerts a notable impact on the urban–rural consumption gap, with significant threshold effects identified for the income gap, the education gap, and financial expenditure for livelihoods; these threshold effects exhibit variation across the three sub-dimensions of the digital economy. Further analysis reveals that the digital economy plays a vital role in reducing the disparity between urban and rural hedonic and developmental consumption, while promoting the optimization and upgrading of consumption structure. Upon accounting for regional disparities in urbanization rates, it has been observed that the digital economy’s dampening effect on the urban–rural consumption gap is notably more pronounced in areas with lower rates of urbanization. To more effectively leverage the positive impact of the digital economy on bridging the urban–rural consumption divide, it is recommended that the government accelerate the establishment of a digital environment in rural areas, encourage the integration of digital industries with traditional rural industries, and optimize the investment structure of livelihood-based finance. These measures would help to create a more conducive environment for the digital economy to thrive and could contribute to narrowing the consumption gap between urban and rural areas.

Mitigating poverty and undernutrition through social protection: A simulation analysis of the COVID‐19 pandemic in Bangladesh and Myanmar

AbstractThe COVID‐19 pandemic resulted in severe income losses, but little is known about its impacts on diets and nutritional adequacy, or the effectiveness of social protection interventions in mitigating dietary and nutritional impacts. We first assess the likely impacts of COVID‐19 shocks in Bangladesh and Myanmar on poverty and food and nutrient consumption gaps. We then analyze the estimated mitigating effects of five hypothetical social protection interventions of a typical monetary value: (1) cash transfers; (2) in‐kind transfers of common rice; (3) in‐kind transfers of fortified rice enriched with multiple essential micronutrients; (4) vouchers for a diversified basket of rice and non‐staple foods; and (5) food vouchers with fortified rice instead of common rice. The simulation results suggest modest effectiveness of the cash transfers for mitigating poverty increases and little effectiveness of all five transfers for preventing increasing food and nutrient consumption gaps among the poorest 40%. Rice fortification is, however, effective at closing key micronutrient consumption gaps and could be a suitable policy instrument for averting “hidden hunger” during economic crises.

Atomic-scale deformation mechanisms of nano-polycrystalline Cu/Al layered composites: a molecular dynamics simulation

In this paper, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was employed to systematically study the tensile deformation behaviors of nano-polycrystalline Cu, nano-polycrystalline Al, nano-polycrystalline Cu/Al, and nano-polycrystalline Cu/Al2Cu/Al models. The influence of interfacial compound Al2Cu on the deformation behavior of nano-polycrystalline Cu/Al2Cu/Al layered composite was analyzed in-depth. The results show that the grain boundary sliding dominates the tensile deformation of nano-polycrystalline Al. In contrast, the emergence of a significant number of deformed twins under the 1/6 <112> Shockley dislocation dominates the tensile deformation of nano-polycrystalline Cu. The strength and toughness of the Cu/Al2Cu/Al model when Al2Cu was added as the interfacial layer are superior to those of nano-polycrystalline Cu/Al without Al2Cu. This is mainly because the Al2Cu interfacial layer could form gradient strain at the interface structure while narrowing the ductility consumption gap between the matrix Cu and Al in Cu/Al2Cu/Al model. Furthermore, Al2Cu is a distinctive interfacial layer that has the unique capacity to annihilate dislocations and prevent dislocation expansion in Cu/Al2Cu/Al. So, the interface layer Al2Cu plays a decisive role in effectively preventing microcrack propagation in the Cu/Al2Cu/Al model and promoting the co-deformation between the matrix Cu and Al. This work could provide a design criterion for fabricating Cu/Al layered composite with excellent strength-toughness synergy.

Real-Time Integrated Energy Management Strategy Applied to Fuel Cell Hybrid Systems

Integrating hydrogen fuel cell systems (FCS) remains challenging in the expanding electric vehicle market. One of the levers to meet this challenge is the relevance of energy supervisors. This paper proposes an innovative energy management strategy (EMS) based on the integrated EMS (iEMS) concept. It uses a nested approach combining the best of the three EMS categories (optimization-based (OBS), rules-based (RBS), and learning-based (LBS) strategies) to overcome the real-time operating condition limitations of the fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle (FCHEV). Through a fuel cell/battery hybrid architecture, the purpose is to improve hydrogen consumption and manage the battery state of charge (SOC) under real-time driving conditions. The proposed iEMS approach is based on an OBS with optimal control to make the energy-optimal decision. However, it requires the adaptations of real-time operating conditions and a dynamic SOC horizon management. These requirements are supported by combining an RBS based on expert and fuzzy rules to compute the SOC target on each sliding window and an LBS based on fuzzy C-mean clustering to enhance the cooperative environment data processing and adapt it to the FHCEV topology. Our approach obtained simple and realistic system behaviors while having an acceptable computing time suitable for real time constraint. It was then designed and validated using a 27-h real-time measured database. The results show the effectiveness of the proposed iEMS concept with an excellent performance close to the optimal offline strategy (an under 2% consumption gap).

Promoting the right attitude: exploring the ethical fashion attitudes of fashion aficionados and materialists

PurposeThis research applied Homer and Kahle's (1988) theoretical framework, which describes the hierarchical relations of personal values, attitude and behavior to test the moderated mediation model. The major focus of this study was to evaluate how individual characteristics such as fashion involvement and materialism influenced the formation of socially responsible attitudes and ethical fashion purchasing intentions. By focusing on fashion aficionados and materialists, this research examines each step of the hierarchical model by exploring the relation between values and attitude and evaluating the attitude–behavior gap. The main finding highlights the critical role that attitude plays in ethical fashion consumption.Design/methodology/approachDifferent sets of latent models with each ethical quality such as ethical concern and ethical obligation were tested to explore if those consumer characteristics had any moderating effects on both front-end (IV-M) and back-end (M-DV) relations of Homer and Kahle's (1988) hierarchical model.FindingsBoth ethical values failed to instill a socially responsible mindset in individuals who were heavily immersed in fashion or materialism. Once such attitudes were formed, however, those who were fashion-conscious or materialistic were more likely to purchase ethical apparel than those who were less interested in fashion or materialism.Originality/valuePrevious research has mainly identified external or situational factors that create the attitude or intention and behavior gap in ethical consumption. Given the lack of understanding about psychological factors in understanding the gap, this study added to the literature by identifying fashion involvement and materialism as critical factors positively influencing attitude and behavioral intention associations.

Investigating critical model input features for unitary air conditioning equipment

A variable-speed air-conditioning system provides more control than single-or multi-stage units, resulting in increased energy efficiency and more precise temperature control. Current commercial and residential direct expansion (DX) equipment testing standards require the embedded control placed on variable-speed equipment to be deactivated during performance testing and instead the fan and compressor speeds are fixed. For this reason, the test and field performances differ, creating a performance as well as an energy consumption gap. This paper presents a machine learning-based approach to investigate critical features from the air and refrigerant side influencing the cooling capacity of unitary air conditioning equipment. High-fidelity experimental data obtained from 4 different state-of-the-art high-efficiency units, 1 fixed-speed 35.2(10) kW(tons) commercial and 3 variable-speed residential unitary equipment of 12.3(3.5), 14(4), and 17.6(5) kW(tons) of cooling capacity have been analyzed by utilizing a feature selection methodology, Elastic Net (EN). Influential features with higher relevance scores corresponding to the total cooling capacity are fed into a supervised Artificial Neural Network (ANN), formulated as a predictive model to evaluate the validity of features selected. Results show that the proposed method of feature selection when applied, ANN is able to predict the equipment cooling capacity with a mean absolute percent error of less than 2% for all tested units, thus approving the proposed input features. The findings may be used as recommendations for the development of a semi-empirical model for better cooling capacity and COP predictions.

Analysis of modern circulation industry development level using industrial structure mechanism.

This study focuses on China's industrial transformation and urban income inequality. It is shown that between 2011 and 2020, improvements in China's industrial structure have a significant positive influence on lowering income gaps between urban and rural areas when used in conjunction with the empirical research approach. The mechanical study shows that the urban population impacts this causation. Rural-to-urban economic gaps have been reduced through modernisation in different parts of the country. The result remains the same even if the urban-rural consumption gap is used as a proxy for income discrepancy. The mechanism for the industrial structure upgrading model (MISUM) is proposed in this article for the modern circulation industry. Key contributions include: (1) environmental rules in these components have no impact on each other, but the updating of industrial buildings indicates a substantial location-specific dependence; (2) environmental standards have impacts on industrial structures throughout provinces; and (3) environmental standards have a long-term qualifying impact on the industrial structures. This essay focuses on combining environmental regulation with industrial expansion in different regions. In this study, government environmental requirements for industrial structural improvements are shown to be in operation. The test results show the MISUM has been described with high accuracy of 94.2%, carbon emission level of 18%, soil emission level of 11% and efficiency ratio of 97.8% compared to other methods.

The Causal Impact of Solid Fuel Use on Mortality – A Cross- Country Panel Analysis

Biomass consumption causes indoor air pollution which impairs health and environment. In this paper, we examine the causal relationship between biomass fuel consumption and measures of life expectancy and infant and child mortality. Using 13 years of cross-country panel data which covers 105 countries over the period 2000-2012, we applied fixed effect model and instrumental variable regression. We find that solid fuel combustion causes increase in infant and child mortality and decreases in male and female life expectancy. A back-of-the envelope calculation suggests that, if the solid fuel consumption gap between low-income and lower-middle income countries were reduced by 50 percent, infant and child mortality in the low-income countries decrease by 16.5 and 29.8 per thousand respectively, and life expectancy would increase by 1.0 and 1.5 years for males and females respectively. Our findings suggest that governments, particularly of developing countries, should focus efforts to reduce solid fuel use.

The sharing economy in a developing economy: The perspective of the leisure business

Currently, sharing economy business models play a significant role in the economy (Quang, 2021). The emergence of such models has generated new business opportunities, such as Airbnb and Uber, which are well-known global leisure businesses (Lee et al., 2021; Tseng &amp; Chan, 2021). Using binary regression analysis, this study investigated the factors influencing the leisure business-sharing economy in Thailand. Since there are few studies on the sharing economy in Thailand, this research could be beneficial to Thai sharing economy leisure enterprises. The findings revealed that the sharing economy (online music — Spotify) could be described using Twitter and Line. The sharing economy (online accommodation — Airbnb) could be described using Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The sharing economy (online taxi service — Grab) could be described by being a student and Line. Because more service providers will appear, businesses must adapt significantly, and everyone has an equal opportunity to enter the sharing economy through simple and easy social media. To strengthen community cooperation, create a sense of security and peace of mind, and reduce the gap in consumption of goods and services in the sharing economy, comprehensive and consistent relevant laws are required for the development of the next phase in resource sharing.

Analysis on the Effect of Agricultural Supply Chain Finance Development on Rural Revitalization

Agricultural supply chain finance is an important innovative model in the field of rural finance. This paper selects provincial panel data of 30 provinces in Chinese mainland from 2011 to 2020, calculates the rural revitalization index, and studies the impact of the development of agricultural supply chain finance on rural revitalization. The research draws the following conclusions: Firstly, the development of agricultural supply chain finance significantly promotes rural revitalization. Secondly, there is a single threshold effect on the promotion effect of agricultural supply chain finance on rural revitalization: taking the Engel coefficient, urban-rural income gap and urban-rural consumption gap as threshold variables, the lower the Engel coefficient of rural residents and the smaller the income and consumption gap between urban and rural areas, the stronger the promotion effect of agricultural supply chain finance on rural revitalization. Finally, the promotion of agricultural supply chain finance development to rural revitalization is more significant in the samples with higher urbanization rates and higher agricultural supply chain finance levels.

Knowledge–Behavior Gap in Tap Water Consumption in Puerto Rico: Implications for Water Utilities

The impacts of climate-related hazards are becoming a major concern for many people worldwide, especially those in vulnerable areas such as Puerto Rico. In September 2017, Hurricane Maria caused severe disruption to the island’s drinking water supply due to power outages, causing major problems for utility companies. This led to water insecurity, particularly among residents, who could not access safe, reliable, adequate, and affordable drinking water. Disaster-related water insecurity challenges are coupled with widespread public mistrust of tap water, yet some residents still consume tap water despite the mistrust. Alternatively, a portion of those who trust the tap water quality choose not to consume it. This knowledge–behavior gap needs to be explored to understand tap water consumption behaviors in the context of mistrust and insecurity. This study’s main goal was to identify why residents mistrusted their tap water and their behaviors in response to or despite mistrust. Data collection included household surveys and interviews with residents (n = 154) from May 2022 to July 2022. Thematic qualitative analysis shows residents generally mistrust tap water because of its poor quality over the past decade based on its palatability properties (taste, color, and smell). In addition, people trust or mistrust tap water because of their lived personal positive or negative experiences with the water utility service in Puerto Rico. This study can be used to develop strategies to address water insecurity and understand public trust in the tap water supply provided by water utilities. Ultimately, this research emphasizes the need for more studies to explore the knowledge–behavior gap in order to understand why some people consume tap water despite the mistrust and vice versa.