John Vasil Krutilla (February 13, 1922 – June 27, 2003) was an American environmental economist, known for inventing the concept of existence value, the idea that undisturbed wilderness has economic value ("nonuse value").[1][2] According to Kenneth Arrow,
"John Krutilla can fairly be said to have created or stimulated most of the agenda of modern environmental economics. . . . He pioneered in developing the idea later called 'existence value,' the value generated by the mere existence of an amenity, such as an unspoiled wilderness or species of animal or plants."[3]
Krutilla was born in Tacoma, Washington;[4] his parents were farmers who had immigrated there from Slovakia.[5] After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, he earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Reed College in 1949, a master's degree from Harvard University in 1951, and a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1952. He worked from 1952 to 1955 at the Tennessee Valley Authority, before going to Resources for the Future where he worked until his retirement in 1988.[6]
Krutilla is perhaps most famous for his essay, "Conservation Reconsidered," in which he coined the idea of Existence value.[7][8]
With Allen V. Kneese, he was the inaugural winner of the Volvo Environment Prize in 1990.[4]