Sufficiency without regret

Anne Baumgartner, Frank C. Krysiak and Florian Kuhlmey

Ecological Economics, 2022, vol. 200, issue C

Abstract: The notion of sufficiency has gained considerable traction in many social sciences as well as in environmental and energy policy. However, sufficiency is not widely discussed in economics, most likely because it is seen as being hard to identify or uninteresting in the context of the standard model of rational choice. In this paper, we introduce a concept of sufficiency, which we define as a change of lifestyle that reduces environmental externalities without compromising individual well-being. We advance a framework of individual choice, where individuals select lifestyles and face uncertainty regarding their preferences in hitherto not experienced lifestyles. We show that changes towards sufficiency are feasible in this setting but, although they can be beneficial to the individual, they might require policy support.

Keywords: Sufficiency; Efficiency; Lifestyle changes; Uncertainty; Rational choice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D01 D11 Q01 Q54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:200:y:2022:i:c:s0921800922002075

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107545

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