On the average growth exponent for beta-expansions

Let $\be\in(1,2)$. Each $x\in I_\be:=[0,\frac{1}{\be-1}]$ can be represented in the form $$x=\sum_{k=1}^\infty a_k\be^{-k},$$ where $a_k\in\{0,1\}$ for all $k$ (a $\be$-expansion of $x$). It was shown in \cite{S} that a.e. $x\in I_\be$ has a continuum of distinct $\be$-expansions. In this paper we show that for a generic $x$, this continuum has one and the same growth rate, i.e., the general $\be$-expansions exhibit an ergodic behaviour. When $\be<\frac{1+\sqrt5}2$, we show that the set of $\be$-expansions grows exponentially for every $x\in(0,\frac{1}{\be-1})$. Special attention is paid to the case $\be=\frac{1+\sqrt5}2$, for which we explicitly compute the average growth exponent and apply this result to evaluating the local dimension of the corresponding Bernoulli convolution at a Lebesgue-generic $x$.