Evaluating the costs and benefits of appliance - efficiency standards
Abstract
The available empirical evidence does not provide a very convincing case that mandatory appliance-efficiency standards will increase economic efficiency or reduce energy consumption significantly. There is a real chance that such standards could actually reduce economic efficiency and possibly lead to an increase in energy use. A broader use of programs to provide consumers with better information seems to represent the most-productive short-run strategy. Consumer education would not only help to improve decisions, but it will also provide time to better assess consumer behavior, allow the market to reveal the technical and economic possibilities for appliance-efficiency improvements, and ultimately allow public policies to be based on more than guesswork. 12 references.
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