Involves

Word

Jevons Paradox

JEV-unz PAIR-uh-doks · noun

The possibility that greater efficiency increases total resource use by making the resource's services cheaper and more widely used

Examples

  • Jevons paradox would occur if cheaper computation expanded use enough to raise total energy demand.

  • A small rebound that reduces savings without reversing them is not the full Jevons paradox.

Origin

The name refers to economist William Stanley Jevons and his 1865 book The Coal Question. He challenged the inference that economical use of coal in a process necessarily meant lower coal consumption across the economy.

How it connects

The term names the reversal between unit savings and total consumption.

This word appeared in When using less makes us use more, the Involves connection for October 21, 2026, which asked: Can a more efficient machine increase total resource consumption?

Check yourself

Which outcome is the full Jevons paradox?

Efficiency improves but total resource use rises because use expands enough. Exactly. The paradox requires an increase in total use, not merely reduced savings.

What the sources establish

  • Jevons' argument concerns total consumption increasing despite improved efficiency.

Sources