Bryan Cutsinger has been doing a wonderful job of presenting financial issues to resolve.
Generally, to do primary economics, you could know primary math.
Right here’s a press release from analysis scientist Carey King in “Why Vitality Effectivity Would possibly Not Minimize Emissions As A lot as You Suppose,” Wall Avenue Journal, November 11, 2024 (print version):
The concept extra effectivity can spur extra consumption quite than much less is called the Jevons Paradox. Named after the British economist William Stanley Jevons, who first described it in his 1865 guide “The Coal Query,” the paradox challenges the intuitive perception that effectivity positive aspects routinely result in power financial savings.
Critics who dismiss Jevons’s thought typically concentrate on shopper conduct. For instance, it’s exhausting to think about {that a} driver would drive 50% extra miles if buying a automobile that makes use of 50% much less gasoline per mile. They may drive somewhat extra, but it surely wouldn’t be sufficient to make a distinction.
Implicit in King’s assertion, given the context, is the concept that if mileage have been to rise by 50%, gasoline consumption wouldn’t change. Is that true?
Present your work.
Notice: King, the Journal tells us, is a analysis scientist and assistant director on the Vitality Institute on the College of Texas at Austin.