Energy Efficiency Gains and the Rebound Effect: Investigating the European Household for Electricity Consumption Through Stochastic Frontier Modeling

ABSTRACT

Energy‐efficiency policies are central to the European Union's (EU's) decarbonization agenda, yet realized electricity savings often fall short of engineering projections because households adjust their use of energy services. Evidence on the macro‐rebound effect for European households remains limited, partly because “efficiency” is often proxied by observed intensity rather than estimated as a latent construct. In this study, a two‐step energy demand frontier (EDF) model is estimated for 25 European countries over the period 2012–2021. First, household electricity‐use efficiency is recovered from three panel stochastic‐frontier specifications (Kumbhakar–Heshmati random effects model [KHREM], true random effects [TRE], and general true random effects [GTRE]) that separate unobserved heterogeneity and decompose inefficiency into persistent and transient components. Second, electricity demand is related to the estimated efficiency series in a dynamic fixed effects (least squares dummy variable [LSDV]) model to obtain short‐ and long‐run rebound magnitudes. Results show sizeable and robust rebound effects. The short‐run rebound is 81.7%, implying that only 18.3% of engineering savings translate into immediate reductions in demand; the long‐run rebound falls to 43.4%, so 56.6% of savings materialize over time. Efficiency estimates indicate that persistent inefficiency dominates transient inefficiency (average persistent efficiency ≈0.67–0.70 vs. transient efficiency ≈0.79–0.87 across specifications), consistent with structural constraints in the residential sector. Price, income, and climate controls display economically plausible effects, and the rebound estimates are stable across frontier models. These findings imply that near‐term demand targets should not assume one‐for‐one savings from efficiency programs. Policy should combine efficiency upgrades with instruments that shape utilization (tariff design, demand response) and prioritize measures that address persistent inefficiency (deep renovation, capital‐vintage replacement, and split‐incentive solutions).