دانلود رایگان مقاله محرکان ارزش میراث: متاآنالیز مطالعات ارزش پولی میراث فرهنگی

Abstract

Decisions about cultural and historical heritage conservation can be contentious. Improved insight into the economic benefits derived from preservation could be achieved through a better understanding of the underlying economics. In response to this challenge, a growing number of studies estimate the economic value of heritage sites. The purpose of this study is to identify common drivers of the economic value of cultural and historical heritage by conducting a meta-analysis of heritage valuation studies. We find that heritage sites in areas with higher population density hold higher value, and conservation that supports adaptive re-use of sites generates higher values then passive protection. Valuation studies of tangible heritage dominate our dataset, but our findings are robust across model specifications. We identify a need for more economic and interdisciplinary research on the value of non-built heritage to improve understanding of the composition and drivers of heritage value.

4. Discussion

Developments in heritage management increasingly consider economic as well as cultural values, and the number of primary valuation studies of cultural heritage sites has been growing rapidly in recent years. These studies apply to only one site, however, and are conducted in diverse contexts. Consequently, relatively little is known about common drivers of the economic value of cultural heritage. Our study identified common drivers of value by conducting a meta-analysis of primary valuation studies of tangible and intangible heritage. The meta-analysis identified three key results. First, population density in the immediate area around heritage sites correlates with their value. Secondly, studies that consider conservation to actively maintain a heritage site (adaptive re-use and conservation) generate higher valuation estimates than those that assess only passive site protection (protection and access). In particular, adaptive reuse of sites is highly valued, possibly because the economic and cultural values are reinforced or experienced more frequently when a community can experience a site as a part of daily life. Thirdly, country grouping effects are found to be significant across studies suggesting that preferences and drivers for the conservation of heritage sites are structurally different between countries. These results were found across a range of model specifications and thus suggest two economic arguments for targeting heritage conservation investments. First, it appears that cost-effective conservation policies would prioritise heritage sites in urban areas over sites in areas with low population densities. This approach maximises the number of people that can experience and value a site for a given budget. Secondly, if conservation is undertaken with the purpose of giving a heritage site an active role within its community, i.e. conservation for adaptive re-use, the value derived from the heritage investment will be much higher than when the site is, for instance, simply conserved.