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Luxury or 'lock-in'? An exploration of unsustainable consumption in the UK: 1968 to 2000

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  • Jackson, Tim
  • Papathanasopoulou, Eleni

Abstract

Sustainable consumption demands the ability to understand the patterns of resource consumption associated with changing lifestyles. This paper explores changes in resource consumption patterns in the UK between 1968 and 2000. Using an environmental input-output model, the paper tracks the fossil resource requirements attributable to 8 high-level functional purposes and finds that overall fossil resource consumption increased 35% over the 32Â year period. The four functional purposes most closely related to the provision of basic material needs showed little change over the period. The bulk of the increase in fossil resource requirements was attributable to two specific functional purposes: 1) recreation and entertainment; 2) commuting and business travel. The authors discuss the relevance of these findings for the continuing debate over the question whether rising consumption is being driven by expanding social aspirations (luxury) or whether it is the result of structural lock-in.

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  • Jackson, Tim & Papathanasopoulou, Eleni, 2008. "Luxury or 'lock-in'? An exploration of unsustainable consumption in the UK: 1968 to 2000," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1-2), pages 80-95, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:68:y:2008:i:1-2:p:80-95
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Tim Jackson, 2005. "Live Better by Consuming Less?: Is There a “Double Dividend” in Sustainable Consumption?," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 9(1‐2), pages 19-36, January.
    2. Reinders, A. H. M. E. & Vringer, K. & Blok, K., 2003. "The direct and indirect energy requirement of households in the European Union," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 139-153, January.
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    7. Sanne, Christer, 2002. "Willing consumers--or locked-in? Policies for a sustainable consumption," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 273-287, August.
    8. Angela Druckman & T. Jackson & E. Papathanasopoulou & P. Bradley, 2000. "Attributing Carbon Emissions to Functional Household Needs: a Pilot Framework For the UK," Regional and Urban Modeling 283600026, EcoMod.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kemp-Benedict, Eric, 2013. "Material needs and aggregate demand," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 16-26.
    2. Xinkuo Xu & Liyan Han, 2017. "Diverse Effects of Consumer Credit on Household Carbon Emissions at Quantiles: Evidence from Urban China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-25, September.
    3. Dai, Hancheng & Masui, Toshihiko & Matsuoka, Yuzuru & Fujimori, Shinichiro, 2012. "The impacts of China’s household consumption expenditure patterns on energy demand and carbon emissions towards 2050," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 736-750.
    4. Papathanasopoulou, Eleni, 2010. "Household consumption, associated fossil fuel demand and carbon dioxide emissions: The case of Greece between 1990 and 2006," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 4152-4162, August.
    5. Lucas Chancel & Thomas Piketty, 2015. "Carbon and inequality: From Kyoto to Paris Trends in the global inequality of carbon emissions (1998-2013) & prospects for an equitable adaptation fund World Inequality Lab," Working Papers halshs-02655266, HAL.
    6. Druckman, Angela & Buck, Ian & Hayward, Bronwyn & Jackson, Tim, 2012. "Time, gender and carbon: A study of the carbon implications of British adults' use of time," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 153-163.
    7. Manfred Lenzen & Murukesan Krishnapillai & Deveraux Talagi & Jodie Quintal & Denise Quintal & Ron Grant & Simpson Abraham & Cindy Ehmes & Joy Murray, 2014. "Cultural and socio‐economic determinants of energy consumption on small remote islands," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 38(1), pages 27-46, February.
    8. Lena Kilian & Anne Owen & Andy Newing & Diana Ivanova, 2022. "Exploring Transport Consumption-Based Emissions: Spatial Patterns, Social Factors, Well-Being, and Policy Implications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-26, September.
    9. Guillen-Royo, Monica, 2010. "Realising the 'wellbeing dividend': An exploratory study using the Human Scale Development approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 384-393, December.
    10. Arman, Michael & Zuo, Jian & Wilson, Lou & Zillante, George & Pullen, Stephen, 2009. "Challenges of responding to sustainability with implications for affordable housing," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 3034-3041, October.
    11. Hongyun Han & Shu Wu, 2019. "Determinants of the Behavioral Lock-in of Rural Residents’ Direct Biomass Energy Consumption in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-25, January.
    12. P. Padma & E. V. Ramasamy & T. V. Muralivallabhan & A. P. Thomas, 2018. "Changing Scenario of Household Consumption Pattern in Kerala: An Emerging Consumer State of India," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 135(2), pages 797-812, January.
    13. Druckman, Angela & Jackson, Tim, 2009. "The carbon footprint of UK households 1990-2004: A socio-economically disaggregated, quasi-multi-regional input-output model," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 2066-2077, May.
    14. Saamah Abdallah & Ian Gough & Victoria Johnson & Josh Ryan-Collins & Cindy Smith, 2011. "The distribution of total greenhouse gas emissions by households in the UK, and some implications for social policy," CASE Papers case152, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    15. Druckman, Angela & Jackson, Tim, 2010. "The bare necessities: How much household carbon do we really need?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 1794-1804, July.
    16. Manfred Lenzen & Robert A. Cummins, 2013. "Happiness versus the Environment—A Case Study of Australian Lifestyles," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 4(1), pages 1-19, May.

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