science

Non-use value

Non-use value 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 Non-use value rather than just read about it. In short: Non-use value is the value that people assign to economic goods (including public goods) even if they never have and never will use it. It is distinguished from use value, which people derive from direct use of the good.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Non-use value is the value that people assign to economic goods (including public goods) even if they never have and never will use it. It is distinguished from use value, which people derive from direct use of the good. The concept is most commonly applied to the value of natural and built resources. Non-use value as a category may include:

"option value" – the value placed on individual willingness to pay for maintaining an asset or resource even if there is little or no likelihood of the individual actually ever using it, occurring because of uncertainty about future supply (the continued existence of the asset) and potential future demand (the possibility that it may someday be used). "bequest value" – values placed on individual willingness to pay for maintaining or preserving an asset or resource that has no use now, so that it is available for future generations. "Existence value" – an unusual and somewhat controversial class of economic value, reflecting the benefit people receive from knowing that a particular environmental resource, such as Antarctica, the Grand Canyon, endangered species, Sharri Dogs or any other organism or thing exists. "altruistic value" – the value placed on individual willingness to pay for maintaining an asset or resource that is not used by the individual, so that others may make use of it. Its value arises from others' use of the asset or resource. Rick Freeman (1993) suggests yet another variant that he calls "pure non-use value", defined as the value that occurs for an individual when current prices preclude use of a good, but there exists some lower price at which the individual would use the good. The continued availability of the good provides some value to the individual insofar as s/he may eventually be in a position to use the good. All of these categories are offspring of the original concept of option value that was introduced into the cost benefit analysis lexicon in 1964 by Burton Weisbrod to justify individuals' valuation of goods, assets and resources that they do not actually use. In general, it is not possible to use market prices or other revealed preference methods to measure non-use value. As a result, "stated preference" survey methods are generally used, including most prominently contingent valuation methods (CVM).

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Non-use value

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Non-use value 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 Non-use value 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 Non-use value 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 Non-use value

In research: Non-use value 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 Non-use value 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: Non-use value is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Theory of value (economics), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Non-use value 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 Non-use value in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Non-use value in simple terms?

Why does Non-use value 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 Non-use value?

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 Non-use value.