Nonuse value

The concept of non-use value refers to the value that people derive from economic goods (including public goods or natural resources) independent of any use, present or future, that people might make of those goods. These are generally differentiated from [use value], which people derive from direct use of the good.

Non-use value includes both existence value and pure non-use value, as well as bequest value, option value, and value arising from paternalistic altruism. Rick Freeman (1993) refers to pure non-use value 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.

Bequest value arises from the desire of individuals to preserve a good for the use of future generations. Option value arises from uncertainty about the future demand or supply for the good, although this is generally treated differently from other non-use values in current literature. The value arising from paternalistic altruism is value one derives from others' use of a good, and differs from pure altruism in that it is not the others' enjoyment of the good that creates value, but simply others' use of the good.

In general, it is not possible to use revealed preference methods to measure non-use value. As a result, (controversial) stated preference methods are generally used, including most prominently contingent valuation methods (CVM).