Impact of time-saving technology on household electricity consumption: An automatic vacuum cleaner distribution experiment in Japan

Kenichi Mizobuchi and Hiroaki Yamagami

Ecological Economics, 2024, vol. 223, issue C

Abstract: Time-saving technologies can raise people's standard of living by increasing their amount of disposable time. However, this may lead t the time-use rebound effect (TRE), wherein people reallocate their regained free time into actions that could affect energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this empirical study, we used a causal inference framework to test whether TRE occurs by conducting a distribution experiment of time-saving goods. We obtained data from a questionnaire about the daily time use of the households in our experiment. Our results showed that the random assignment of time-saving goods leads to a time reallocation of household behaviour. These goods increased electricity use, although their magnitude is relatively small at 1.83% of household electricity consumption.

Keywords: Automatic vacuum cleaners; Household behaviour; Time-saving goods; Time-use rebound effect; Energy use; Causal inference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D14 E21 P18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:223:y:2024:i:c:s0921800924001289

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108231

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