Energy efficiency and social acceleration: Macro-level rebounds from a sociological perspective

Abstract

This chapter investigates macro-level rebounds from a sociological angle. Macro-level rebound effects have already been researched in economics. Yet macroeconomic rebound analysis vastly depend on the parameters and the kind of production functions applied. This chapter discusses whether currently used production functions adequately consider broader changes in the structural (economic and societal) framework conditions that might be brought about by energy efficiency improvements (EEI). It draws on a large body of sociological literature on ‘social acceleration’, which shows how technological efficiency improvements and innovation increase the pace of production and consumption and, hence, accelerate the ‘speed of life’ and the rate of social change. In an attempt to merge this sociological discourse with macroeconomic rebound considerations, the chapter finally discusses whether the ‘velocity of money’ (V) could serve as an additional parameter that explains an increase in economic output due to an improvement in energy efficiency.