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Intangible good

Intangible good is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Intangible good rather than just read about it. In short: An intangible good is something that provides utility which does not have a physical nature, as opposed to a physical good (an object). Intangible goods do not have a physical presence, but "ownership rights exist for them (established with patents and copyrights), they can be stored, and their ownership transferred." Digital goods such as downloadable music, mobile apps or virtual goods used in virtual economies ar…

Intangible good — main illustration
Intangible good — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Intangible good belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Intangible good to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Intangible good from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

An intangible good is something that provides utility which does not have a physical nature, as opposed to a physical good (an object). Intangible goods do not have a physical presence, but "ownership rights exist for them (established with patents and copyrights), they can be stored, and their ownership transferred." Digital goods such as downloadable music, mobile apps or virtual goods used in virtual economies are proposed to be examples of intangible goods. Other examples of intangible goods include "scientific inventions, and "originals" such as the words in a book manuscript or the images stored on a film master." Another example of a category of intangible goods is intellectual property. In contrast, tangible goods have a physical presence. Examples include newspapers, music CDs, and movie DVDs. These are the "physical expression of intangible goods that can be copyrighted."

See also Service-goods continuum

References

Further reading Bannock, Graham et al.. (1997). Dictionary of Economics, Penguin Books. Hill, Peter 1999. "Tangibles, intangibles and services: a new taxonomy for the classification of output." Canadian Journal of Economics. Vol. 32, no. 2. April. p. 426-447. Milgate, Murray (1987), "goods and commodities," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 2, pp. 546–48. Includes historical and contemporary uses of the terms in economics.

Illustrations

Intangible good: The downloadable mobile apps shown on this smartphone screen are intangible goods because they have no physical presence.
The downloadable mobile apps shown on this smartphone screen are intangible goods because they have no physical presence.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Intangible good

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Intangible good claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Intangible good before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Intangible good ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Intangible good

In research
Intangible good appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Intangible good in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Intangible good is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Goods, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Intangible good outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Intangible good in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Intangible good means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Intangible good out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Intangible good in simple terms?

An intangible good is something that provides utility which does not have a physical nature, as opposed to a physical good (an object). Intangible goods do not have a physical presence, but "ownership rights exist for them (established with patents and copyrights), they can be stored, and their own…

Why does Intangible good matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Intangible good?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Intangible good.

Tags

  • Goods

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