The Jevons Paradox, named after the English economist William Stanley Jevons, describes a counterintuitive economic phenomenon in which improvements in the efficiency of resource use lead to an overall increase rather than a decrease in resource consumption. This occurs because the increased efficiency lowers the effective cost of using the resource, which can lead to an increase in demand that more than offsets the initial savings from the efficiency improvement.
For example, if technological advancements make it possible to use coal more efficiently in industrial processes, the immediate expectation might be that less coal will be used. However, because the cost of using coal has decreased, industries might expand their operations or more industries might begin using coal, ultimately leading to an overall increase in coal consumption.
This paradox highlights a potential pitfall in efforts to conserve resources through efficiency improvements alone, suggesting that without measures to control demand, increased efficiency can lead to higher overall resource use.
