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 Cameron Murray
Faculty of Business, Economics & Finance
Thesis Title: Estimating the scale of the respending rebound effect in Australia
Masters Research Summary:
The topic of Cameron's research is the 'rebound effect'. In broad terms, the rebound effect describes the feedbacks in the economy due to improved efficiency and conservation efforts.
One example might be an individuals efforts to reduce their contribution of greenhouse emissions by choosing to drive less. By doing so, they save money which gets spent on other energy consuming goods and services, and also, they reduce congestion, stimulating others to drive through reduced commuting times, and the feedbacks continue.
There are two sides to the debate on rebound effects. One side believes that increasing efficient use of inputs (energy, materials etc) causes increased consumption of that input, whereas the other side suggests this is not the case, and that increasing efficiency, even in the face of rebounds, reduces consumption of the input.
Cameron uses an econometric model to simulate changes to consumption patterns for households undertaking a series of conservation measures.
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