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The Evaluation of Cultural Heritage: Some Critical Issues

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Economic Perspectives on Cultural Heritage

Abstract

Decisions on preserving art objects and art institutions are continually taken by governments and public administrations. Preservation implies maintaining the stock and hindering its dilapidation and worsening. Keeping up the stock creates opportunity cost as the resources involved (labour and material inputs, and in the case of historic monuments especially the sites) could be used for alternative purposes. Current funds are needed to repair and safeguard the objects. In order to take these decisions rationally an evaluation of the value of the cultural heritage (compared with relevant alternatives) is required.

I am grateful for helpful comments to Felix Oberholzer and Isabelle Vautravers-Busenhart. Financial support from the Swiss National Fund, Project No. 12-42480.94, is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors
  1. Bruno S. Frey
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Witten-Herdecke University, Witten, Germany

    Michael Hutter

  2. University of Catania, Italy

    Ilde Rizzo (Professor of Public Finance and Vice-Chancellor) (Professor of Public Finance and Vice-Chancellor)

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© 1997 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

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Frey, B.S. (1997). The Evaluation of Cultural Heritage: Some Critical Issues. In: Hutter, M., Rizzo, I. (eds) Economic Perspectives on Cultural Heritage. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-25824-6_3

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