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The Carbon Cost of an Educated Future: A Consumer Lifestyle Approach

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  • Ethan Sharygin

Abstract

Demographic and economic growth will account for most of the anticipated growth in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the next century. Education is associated with development, and the world population in the near future is likelyto be significantly better educated than today. Previous studies ofhousehold energy demand and associated emissions have not directly considered the consequences of a more educated population. In this study, I estimate the energy intensity of consumption dollars and the total impact of households according to their demographic characteristics, with particular attention to differences in spending habits by education and the environmental consequences. I find that education results in fewer emissions per household, holding other household characteristics constant. Each year of education is associated with an average effect in CO2-equivalent (CO2e) emission of -466kg/yr.After controlling for household characteristics, the effect of a year of education is -163.1kg per year. Educated households spend less on home energy and transportation by car, two of the most important sources of household level atmospheric GHG production. They spend relatively more on investment goods, public transport, and other activities which have a low environmental footprint.

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  • Ethan Sharygin, 2013. "The Carbon Cost of an Educated Future: A Consumer Lifestyle Approach," VID Working Papers 1304, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.
    • Handle: RePEc:vid:wpaper:1304
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    1. Chankrajang, Thanyaporn & Muttarak, Raya, 2017. "Green Returns to Education: Does Schooling Contribute to Pro-Environmental Behaviours? Evidence from Thailand," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 434-448.
    2. Erich Striessnig & Wolfgang Lutz, 2014. "How does education change the relationship between fertility and age-dependency under environmental constraints? A long-term simulation exercise," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(16), pages 465-492.
    3. Wolfgang Lutz & Erich Striessnig, 2015. "Demographic aspects of climate change mitigation and adaptation," Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 69(sup1), pages 69-76, April.

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    Keywords

    Human capital; environmental impact; household emissions.;
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