Planning for a future free from rebound effects

Abstract

This paper argues that attempts to mitigate rebound effects within growth-orientated economic systems are self-defeating. This arises because rebound effects contribute to economic expansion and individual 'welfare' improvements (i.e., they are welcome and even desirable) and they flourish in traditional market systems where resource allocation is conducted in an ex-post fashion. As such, in the context of the transition towards more sustainable societies, we suggest that ex-ante economic planning and coordination mechanisms are needed to help eliminate rebound effects. Specifically, we argue that mechanisms adopted in contemporary supply chains demonstrate the technical feasibility of economic planning. Such techniques, framed within a democratic economic planning architecture, could therefore encourage moves towards a future that allows us to live within biophysical limits. An interdisciplinary research agenda is proposed to this end.