Jevons paradox

Jevons paradox refers to the phenomenon where the increase of efficiency in the use of a resource leads to more use of the resource. Jevons originally noticed in 1865 that the development of more fuel-efficient steam engines resulted in an increased total use of coal: the falling cost of coal increased its demand and negated the gains.

See also:

• Wirth's law - a computing-specific variant of Jevons paradox