The Distribution of Material Footprints in Germany

37 Pages Posted: 16 May 2018

See all articles by Frank Pothen

Frank Pothen

Ernst-Abbe-Hochschule Jena; Fraunhofer Gesellschaft - Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy IMW

Miguel Angel Tovar Reaños

ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research

Date Written: 2018

Abstract

This study investigates the within-country heterogeneity of material footprints implied by households' consumption in Germany. Material footprints are defined as the amount of biomass, minerals, and fossil fuels extracted to produce the goods that households consume. Combining input-output data with households' consumption expenditures from the German sample survey of income and expenditure (EVS), we present the first comprehensive study on the distribution of material footprints among households, highlighting hot spots of unsustainable consumption patterns by household groups. Households in the quartile with the highest consumption expenditures have material footprints three times as large as those in the quartile with the lowest expenditures. Results of a microeconomic model of household's consumption behaviour estimated on the EVS data suggest that price-based instruments can reduce material footprints of luxury consumption such as leisure and private transport without imposing large burdens on low-affluence households. The material footprints caused by energy consumption do not react sensitively to price changes, suggesting that non-price policies are more effective to reduce them.

Keywords: material footprint, demand system estimation, input-output analysis, sustainable consumption

Suggested Citation

Pothen, Frank and Tovar Reaños, Miguel Angel, The Distribution of Material Footprints in Germany (2018). ZEW - Centre for European Economic Research Discussion Paper No. 18-022, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3178686 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3178686

Frank Pothen (Contact Author)

Ernst-Abbe-Hochschule Jena ( email )

Carl-Zeiß-Promenade 2
Jena, 07745
Germany

Fraunhofer Gesellschaft - Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy IMW ( email )

Neumarkt 9-19
Leipzig, Saxony 04109
Germany

Miguel Angel Tovar Reaños

ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research ( email )

P.O. Box 10 34 43
L 7,1
D-68034 Mannheim, 68034
Germany

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