Place-based Approaches to Understanding and Measuring Non-Use Values

Non-use value refers to the intrinsic worth or significance that individuals attribute to goods or services, regardless of direct engagement with them. The reliability and validity of the methods used to estimate non-use value are contested, and aggregating non-use values to assess overall benefits derived from cultural goods remains a fundamental challenge. Added to this is also the uncertainty about the extent – and make-up- of the non-user population.

CherPP seeks to address this research problem via mixed methods approach applied to an in-depth case study. In this CHerPP working paper, Steve Nolan and Tamara West set out some of the limitations of existing understandings and measurements of non-use value in relation to cultural heritage and argue for the importance and centrality of a place-based lens.