Intrinsic theory of value

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An intrinsic theory of value is any theory of value in economics which holds that the value of an object, good or service, is intrinsic or contained in the item itself. Most such theories look to the process of producing an item, and the costs involved in that process, as a measure of the item's intrinsic value.

For instance, the labor theory of value - the most influential of the intrinsic theories - holds that the value of an item comes from the amount of labor spent producing said item. For example, if a chair is produced by two workers in 6 hours, then that chair is worth 2 x 6 = 12 man-hours (this is a simplified case; the labor theory of value takes into consideration only the "necessary" amount of labor that must go into the production of an item, which may be less than the actual expended labor due to inefficiency).

Value investors use a variety of analytical techniques to estimate the intrinsic value of securities in the hope of finding where the "true value" exceeds current market value.