Economy Rebounds Research Articles

Vehicle miles traveled induced demand, rebound effect, and price and income elasticities: A US spatial econometric analysis

The economic literature on transportation is extensive, with travel demand being a well-studied topic. However, research on light-duty vehicle travel has not fully explored spatial dependencies arising from neighboring regions' driving activities. This study uses state-level panel data from 2000 to 2019 to examine U.S. vehicle miles traveled (VMT), focusing on spatial spillover effects through a Spatial Durbin Model. Our results reveal significant spatial interactions between states. Increased VMT in one state leads to spillover effects, increasing VMT in neighboring states. We present our findings as marginal effects, distinguishing between direct and indirect impacts. The direct price elasticity is estimated at −0.257, with a positive spillover impact of 0.036, yielding a total elasticity of −0.221. Induced travel exhibits a larger indirect effect than a direct effect, resulting in an overall impact of 0.276. Additionally, direct and total income elasticities are 0.194 and 0.146, respectively, while direct and total fuel economy rebound effects are 0.546 and 0.496, respectively. Moreover, higher numbers of licensed drivers, registered vehicles, and urbanization significantly influence a state's VMT. This research highlights the importance of regional planning among states, especially considering transportation infrastructure and environmental concerns related to driving and vehicle emissions.

Circular economy, economic growth, and e-waste generation in EU27 countries: Further evidence from the novel circular economy index and threshold effect.

The circular economy has been identified as a critical keyword for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Nevertheless, there is a lack of in-depth empirical literature on the impact mechanisms of the circular economy (CE) and economic growth (GDP) in mitigating e-waste generation (waste electrical and electronic equipment -WEEE). Given Europe's leading position in e-waste generation per capita, the study aims to scrutinize the interplay between CE, GDP, and WEEE for 2010-2020. The research applies advanced econometric methods, primarily centered around the system generalized method of moment and dynamic panel threshold. It was noteworthy that different CE indicators exhibited varying effects on WEEE through the econometric analysis. Therefore, the research uniquely utilized the entropy weight method to compute a holistic composite index for the circular economy (CEI) and gained some interesting findings. Firstly, CEI significantly reduced WEEE, while GDP drove its increase. However, an overly developed CEI of 0.7616 counteracted its beneficial effect. Secondly, the synergy of CEI*GDP engendered the circular economy rebound effect, diminishing environmental benefits. Thirdly, in the circular context, the environmental Kuznets curve was validated, showcasing an inverted U-shaped pattern. Finally, the study found CEI to have different threshold effects, with thresholds of 0.2161 to inhibit WEEE, 0.2114 to avert the circular economy rebound effect, and 0.2360 to leverage GDP in reducing WEEE. These outcomes give insights to policymakers in designing sound policies targeting circular economy development and decoupling e-waste generation from economic growth towards the United Nations' SDGs.

The Circular Economy (CE) Rebound as a Paradox of Knowledge: Forecasting the Future of the CE–IoT Nexus through the Global E-Waste Crisis

The Circular Economy (CE) Rebound as a Paradox of Knowledge: Forecasting the Future of the CE–IoT Nexus through the Global E-Waste Crisis

The circular economy rebound effect: Reconceptualizing rebound approaches and mitigation opportunities from an ordonomic perspective

AbstractRecent scholarship has advocated a conceptual investigation of rebound effect theory in the circular economy (CE) context. While the available body of knowledge on a circular economy rebound (CER) is rather scant, this forum article proposes a conceptual view of existing CER approaches. Our analysis reveals that the CER literature has largely bypassed an appreciation of how firm behavior is embedded in and canalized by governance arrangements. This forum article contributes to the literature by reconceptualizing the challenges of mitigating CERs. It proposes to re‐focus the CER debate toward: (i) the innovation need of functional collective commitments for CE to address free‐rider‐problems; (ii) the criticality of effective management of decoupling through innovative circular governance; (iii) the critical reflection of calls for degrowth and “non‐optimization” behavior; and (iv) the recognition of optimization behavior and circular governance frameworks as complementary rather than substitute approaches for facilitating CER mitigation.

Circular economy rebound effect in the context of second-hand clothing consumption

The purpose of this paper was to investigate whether consumer behaviour in the second-hand clothing market causes a rebound effect, and if so, what are the reasons behind it. The study examined two potential causes: the price effect and moral licensing. A survey technique was used for data collection to study the phenomenon quantitatively. Non-parametric tests, analysis of relationships between variables and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to analyse the results. The existence of a rebound effect in the used clothing market was confirmed. At the same time, the magnitude of the substitution rate between new clothing and used clothing was estimated at 1:1.23. It was also proved that the phenomenon under study is influenced by both the price effect and moral licensing.

Curbside recycling increases household consumption

The environmental benefits of recycling depend on the extent to which it reduces virgin material consumption, yet there currently is a lack of empirical research on this relationship. This study addresses this gap by leveraging data on variation in the regional adoption of curbside recycling programs in North Carolina between 1999 and 2019. It uses difference-in-differences regression methods with two-way fixed effects to compare solid waste generation between similar communities with and without recycling programs. The study finds that during the study period solid waste generation in North Carolina increased by 6–10 % in the presence of curbside recycling, providing empirical evidence of circular economy rebound on the household level. This result suggests that the current focus of recycling programs and other circular economy activities, which is to increase the availability of secondary resources through collection and recycling, should be complemented by efforts to reduce the consumption of primary resources.

Centering Work: Integration and Diffusion of Workforce Development Within the U.S. Manufacturing Extension Network

As the U.S. economy rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic, strategies that promote long-term transformation toward quality jobs will be critical. This includes workplace-improving interventions that enable employers to upgrade existing jobs, often while enhancing their own competitive position. This article focuses on the U.S. Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a national network of federally funded centers that support small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms. The authors document the range of workforce- and workplace-enhancing strategies that MEP centers have adopted since the network's inception in the mid-1990s. While workforce development is unevenly implemented across today's MEP network, leading centers within it are devising transformative strategies that shape underlying business practices in ways that can improve the quality of frontline manufacturing jobs. The pandemic recovery, along with federal commitments to reenergize domestic supply chains, presents an opportunity to establish National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)-MEP as a national workforce development leader, while also strengthening localized institutional partnerships to center that effort on inclusive economic development and recovery.

Tracking the drivers of global greenhouse gas emissions with spillover effects in the post-financial crisis era

Addressing the challenge of climate change requires information on how to achieve GHG mitigation at the global scale. Here, we use the latest data available on economic interdependencies between economies as well as the associated emission activities to track the drivers of global GHG emissions during the post-financial crisis era from 2009 to 2019, among which the role of spillover in the context of global trade is highlighted. We found that the decrease in GHG emission intensity is the main factor responsible for slowing down global GHG emissions, particularly for the industrial sector. Production technology effect plays an increasingly important role in reducing GHG emissions, yet they are still unable to offset the increasing GHG emissions caused by final demand expansion with the economy rebound after the financial crisis. The bilateral analysis across regions demonstrates that spillover plays an important role in driving global GHG emissions, and it is likely that changes in technology and economic structure could result in more GHG emissions in other economies. This motivates us to raise questions about jurisdiction-based GHG mitigation policies and a call for global cooperation to reduce GHG emissions.

Circular Economy Rebound: The Third Wheel on the Date Between Circularity and Sustainability

The Circular Economy Rebound (CER) effect is a phenomenon that can compromise the capability of a Circular Economy to achieve its intended benefits. Its occurrence can lead to firms overstating their environmental performance and being prone to greenwashing. From a broader point of view, it jeopardises sustainability and economic prosperity from the circular transition and can hinder the decoupling between production and virgin resource extraction. Thus, CER may play a pivotal role in micro and macroeconomic decision-making and policy-making in a Circular Economy. Yet, it is largely unknown, and the search for concrete solutions to limit its occurrence and mitigate its effects is strongly overlooked. Accordingly, this perspective paper aims to increase awareness about CER and tease academics, practitioners, and policymakers to join forces and develop holistic, actionable solutions to manage this detrimental unintended consequence of establishing circularity.

How to manage the Circular Economy Rebound effect: A proposal for contingency-based guidelines

The Circular Economy Rebound (CER) effect can compromise the capability of a Circular Economy (CE) to achieve its intended sustainability benefits. The CER occurrence may potentially lead firms engaged in circular strategies to overstate their environmental performance, indulge in greenwashing, and undermine their economic prosperity and sustainability. Nevertheless, the scientific literature falls short in suggesting how CER should be managed at the microeconomic level not to jeopardise the effectiveness of the circular transition. Thus, this paper aims to investigate how firms may undertake to manage CER. Through an in-depth literature review on CER and an exploratory case study developed through the Contingency Theory lenses, a theoretical characterisation of the CER phenomenon was advanced and four guidelines that firms may adopt to manage it were devised. The CER management guidelines recommend courses of action to better balance the trade-off between economic and environmental performance and achieve sustainability through circularity. Furthermore, they propose a tool – the Displacement-Profitability matrix – to guide managers in pursuing profitable and environmental-friendly CER management. The results contribute to the CE and Operations & Supply Chain Management research streams and attempt to tackle the lack of theoretical guidance that the CE field suffers from.

Sharing economy rebound: The case of peer‐to‐peer sharing of food waste

AbstractThe digital sharing economy is commonly thought to promote sustainable consumption and improve material efficiency through better utilization of existing product stocks. However, the cost savings and convenience of using digital sharing platforms can ultimately stimulate additional demand for products and services. As a result, some or even all of the expected environmental benefits attributed to sharing could be offset, a phenomenon known as the rebound effect. Relying on a unique dataset covering over 750,000 food items shared in the United Kingdom through a free peer‐to‐peer food‐sharing platform, we use econometric modeling, geo‐spatial network analysis, and environmentally extended input–output analysis to quantify how much of the expected environmental benefits attributed to sharing are offset via rebound effects under seven re‐spending scenarios. We find that rebound effects can offset 59–94% of expected greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction, 20–81% of expected water depletion benefits, and 23–90% of land use benefit as platform users re‐spent the money saved from food sharing on other goods and services. Our results demonstrate that rebound effects could limit the potential to achieve meaningful reductions in environmental burdens through sharing, and highlight the importance of incorporating rebound effects in environmental assessments of the digital sharing economy.

Open the doors to tourism or remain cautious: residents’ dilemma amidst a pandemic

ABSTRACT During a pandemic, residents of tourism destinations face the dilemma of whether to welcome tourists to help the economy rebound or to oppose their arrival to minimize the risk of contagion. This paper examines the influence of residents’ perception of the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic and the health risks associated with tourist arrivals on their attitudes towards tourism impacts and willingness to support tourism development. To this end, a novel model is tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). The potential moderating effect of belonging to certain population groups is also analysed, namely (i) having a household member linked to the tourism sector, (ii) residing in the city centre, and (iii) belonging to a COVID-19 risk group. Perceived risk of contagion was found to be a stronger predictor of residents’ support for tourism development than perception of the economic crisis; an effect that increases notably among residents of the most popular tourist areas of the city. These empirical findings provide useful information with a view to designing destination planning strategies during and after the pandemic.

Scenario assessment of neodymium recycling in Japan based on substance flow analysis and future demand forecast

With the increasing demand for energy-saving technologies, neodymium-iron-boron magnets have been widely utilized in high-efficiency motors. However, the reserves of neodymium, which is a rare earth element (REE), are limited; thus, a strategy for scaling up the REE supply is highly required. In this study, a scenario assessment was conducted to evaluate the effect of material recycling of neodymium from final product waste. Domestic substance flow analysis of neodymium was conducted by focusing on the waste flow of the final product. Moreover, the demand and waste of neodymium until 2050 were forecasted using various multivariate analysis methods. The results showed that the domestic waste of neodymium was forecasted to be 3866–4217 tons/year by 2050. However, material recycling of neodymium from final product waste may cause an additional increase in production by “circular economy rebound”. Considering that CO2 reduction has also been a global challenge to prevent global warming, the rebound effect was calculated. Therefore, a scenario assessment was conducted to evaluate the influence of this rebound effect by estimating the CO2 reduction. The results of this study are expected to make a significant contribution to the establishment of a new strategy for neodymium recycling.

Toward a circular economy for plastics

Toward a circular economy for plastics

SOUTH AFRICA: Q3 Economy Rebounds

Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical SeriesVolume 57, Issue 12 p. 23260A-23260C Policy and Practice SOUTH AFRICA: Q3 Economy Rebounds First published: 03 February 2021 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6346.2021.09860.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume57, Issue12February 2021Pages 23260A-23260C RelatedInformation

Reconsidering the Circular Economy Rebound effect: Propositions from a case study of the Dutch Circular Textile Valley

This article investigates the phenomenon of rebound effects in relation to a transition to a Circular Economy (CE) through qualitative inquiry. The aim is to gain insights in manifestations of rebound effects by studying the Dutch textile industry as it transitions to a circular system, and to develop appropriate mitigation strategies that can be applied to ensure an effective transition. The rebound effect, known originally from the energy efficiency literature, occurs when improvements in efficiency or other technological innovations fail to deliver on their environmental promise due to (behavioral) economic mechanisms. The presence of rebound in CE contexts can therefore lead to the structural overstatement of environmental benefits of certain innovations, which can influence reaching emission targets and the preference order of recycling. In this research, the CE rebound effect is investigated in the Dutch textile industry, which is identified as being vulnerable to rebound, yet with a positive potential to avoid it. The main findings include the very low awareness of this effect amongst key stakeholders, and the identification of specific and general instances of rebound effects in the investigated industry. In addition, the relation of these effects to Circular Business Models and CE strategies are investigated, and placed in a larger context in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding about the place and role of this effect in the transition. This concerns the necessity for a new approach to how design has been practiced traditionally, and the need to place transitional developments in a systems perspective. Propositions that serve as theory-building blocks are put forward and include suggestions for further research and recommendations about dealing with rebound effects and shaping an eco-effective transition.

People’s Republic of China

The Chinese economy continues its fast recovery from the health and economic crisis as a strong containment effort and macroeconomic and financial policy support have mitigated the crisis impact and helped the economy rebound. However, growth is still unbalanced as the recovery has relied heavily on public support while private consumption is lagging. Rising financial vulnerabilities and the increasingly challenging external environment pose risks to the outlook. Important reforms have progressed despite the crisis, but unevenly across key areas.

Clarifying rebound effects of the circular economy in the context of sustainable cities

The rebound effect is a crucial and unresolved issue for the circular economy (CE) because it can deteriorate resource efficiency that has been improved by technologies. However, academic discussions on rebound effects mostly focus on environmental issues such as the material and energy rebound. Social aspects of rebound effects including radical organizational changes and damage to workers’ and citizens’ health and rights are relatively ignored. From the perspective of sustainable cities, it is necessary to take care of urban stakeholders and consider both environmental and social justice to prevent different dimensions of impact. Accordingly, this paper serves to broaden academic discourses on the circular economy rebound, proposes a framework to align CE with the context of sustainable cities, and clarifies the linkages between rebound effects and different phases of CE. It is concluded that policy makers should not solely emphasize numeric indicators of resource efficiency; instead, they should articulate the social context of rebound effects and address potential impact in advance to ensure sustainability. Via the integration of interdisciplinary knowledge, open information, and moral responsibility, CE stakeholders including relevant industries, governments, and communities can together establish more socially inclusive policies and regulations in a systematic manner for sustainable cities.

Reviewing circular economy rebound effects: The case of online peer-to-peer boat sharing

Renting instead of buying new products may be seen as the most efficient strategies of the circular economy. However, changes in the consumption inevitably liberates or binds scarce production or c ...

Macroeconomic effects of consumer confidence shock – evidence for state dependence

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of a consumer confidence shock on GDP and different types of consumer spending during a slack state as well as a non-slack state of an economy. Design/methodology/approach The authors use the US quarterly data from 1960Q1 to 2014Q4 and apply Jorda’s (2005) local projection method to compute the impulse responses of macroeconomic variables to a consumer confidence shock. The local projection method allows us to include non-linearities in the response function. Findings In general, the response of output, following a consumer confidence shock, is similar in slack and non-slack states and indicate that an unfavorable confidence shock is contractionary. However, the intensity and duration of impact of a confidence shock on different components of spending are state dependent. Overall, a negative confidence shock appears to have a stronger impact on non-slack time than on a slack time. Practical implications Policy makers should be careful about undertaking a policy action that may affect consumer confidence adversely, particularly during an economic good time. An adverse confidence shock can trigger a downfall in a well-functioning economy and the dampening effect may last for several quarters before the economy rebounds. Originality/value US economy is subject to fluctuations; however, the literature on the impact of confidence shock in different economic states is limited. The incremental contribution of this paper is that it investigates how the consumers respond to the confidence shock in a state-dependent model. Furthermore, the authors use a more robust and alternative estimation method that tackles any non-linear problems.