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An evolutionary perspective on the economics of energy consumption: The crucial role of habits

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  • Kevin Maréchal

Abstract

The climate change issue imposes us not only to change the way we produce and convert energy but also to modify current energy consumption patterns. A substantial body of literature has shown that our behavior is often guided by habits. The existence of habits - not fully conscious forms of behavior - is important as it contradicts rational choice theory. Their presence thus calls for the setting of new instruments as it is difficult to expect consumers to be capable of exercising control over their consumption of energy in reaction to given incentives. This is further increased in our perspective where the current carbon-based Socio-Technical System constrains and shapes consumers' choices through structural, cultural, social and institutional forces. Habits being potentially "counterintentional," can be considered as a form of behavioral lock-in that may explain continued increase of energy consumption. Policies should thus specifically address the performance context of habits. © 2009, Journal of Economic Issues / Association for Evolutionary Economics.

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  • Kevin Maréchal, 2009. "An evolutionary perspective on the economics of energy consumption: The crucial role of habits," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/170357, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    • Handle: RePEc:ulb:ulbeco:2013/170357
    Note: SCOPUS: ar.j
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cowan, Robin, 1990. "Nuclear Power Reactors: A Study in Technological Lock-in," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(3), pages 541-567, September.
    2. Kurt Dopfer, 2004. "The economic agent as rule maker and rule user: Homo Sapiens Oeconomicus," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 177-195, June.
    3. STEPHEN J. DeCANIO, 1997. "Economic Modeling And The False Tradeoff Between Environmental Protection And Economic Growth," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 15(4), pages 10-27, October.
    4. Dopfer,Kurt (ed.), 2005. "The Evolutionary Foundations of Economics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521621991.
    5. DeCanio, Stephen J, 1998. "The efficiency paradox: bureaucratic and organizational barriers to profitable energy-saving investments," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 441-454, April.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Kevin Maréchal & Hélène Aubaret-Joachain & Jean-Paul Ledant, 2008. "The influence of Economics on agricultural systems: an evolutionary and ecological perspective," Working Papers CEB 08-028.RS, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    2. Maréchal, Kevin, 2010. "Not irrational but habitual: The importance of "behavioural lock-in" in energy consumption," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 1104-1114, March.
    3. Evens Salies, 2010. "Pricing policy in the presence of pro-environmental consumers," Documents de Travail de l'OFCE 2010-03, Observatoire Francais des Conjonctures Economiques (OFCE).
    4. Raihanian Mashhadi, Ardeshir & Behdad, Sara, 2018. "Discriminant effects of consumer electronics use-phase attributes on household energy prediction," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 346-355.
    5. Kevin Maréchal, 2018. "Recasting the understanding of habits for behaviour-oriented policies in transportation," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/270475, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    6. Peter Morris & Laurie Buys & Desley Vine, 2014. "Moving from Outsider to Insider: Peer Status and Partnerships between Electricity Utilities and Residential Consumers," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(6), pages 1-8, June.
    7. Zhang, Junyi & Teng, Fei & Zhou, Shaojie, 2020. "The structural changes and determinants of household energy choices and energy consumption in urban China: Addressing the role of building type," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    8. Kakeu, Johnson & Nguimkeu, Pierre, 2017. "Habit formation and exhaustible resource risk-pricing," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 1-12.
    9. Sun, Chuanwang & Ouyang, Xiaoling, 2016. "Price and expenditure elasticities of residential energy demand during urbanization: An empirical analysis based on the household-level survey data in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 56-63.
    10. 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.
    11. Fiorillo, Damiano & Sapio, Alessandro, 2019. "Energy saving in Italy in the late 1990s: Which role for non-monetary motivations?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 1-1.
    12. Kevin Marechal, 2018. "Recasting the Understanding of Habits for Behaviour-Oriented Policies in Transportation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-14, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Energy consumption; Evolutionary economics; Habits; Lock-in;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D11 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Theory
    • Q40 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - General
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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