Jevons paradox
An economic concept stating that when technological progress improves the efficiency of resource use, the total consumption of that resource rises rather than falls. Proposed by the British economist William Jevons in 1865, its core mechanism is that improved efficiency lowers unit costs, activates new demand, and expands overall consumption.
Core Facts
Timeline (last 90 days)
The Jevons inference: efficiency improvements lower the energy cost per unit of output, making previously uneconomical uses feasible and thereby expanding overall demand.
The space created by efficiency improvements can be used in different ways: all of it converted into more invocations, or part of it kept for energy efficiency improvements, which depends on product decisions rather than being an inevitable technological outcome.
The Jevons Paradox refers to William Stanley Jevons's observation that improvements in steam engine efficiency not only failed to reduce coal consumption but actually led to a significant increase in total consumption by lowering the cost of use.
All Facts (3)
The Jevons Paradox refers to William Stanley Jevons's observation that improvements in steam engine efficiency not only failed to reduce coal consumption but actually led to a significant increase in total consumption by lowering the cost of use.
65%UnverifiedThe Jevons inference: efficiency improvements lower the energy cost per unit of output, making previously uneconomical uses feasible and thereby expanding overall demand.
50%UnverifiedThe space created by efficiency improvements can be used in different ways: all of it converted into more invocations, or part of it kept for energy efficiency improvements, which depends on product decisions rather than being an inevitable technological outcome.
50%