Cultural heritage evaluation: a reappraisal of some critical concepts involved

Abstract

This study aims to build a synoptic picture of the facets of the economic category called “value”, with practicality in the tangible cultural heritage field, from the point of view of a traditionally economists-specific approach: concern for the financial sustainability of any decision. Moreover, the methods from the economics literature regarding the valences of the “cultural value” concept prove the obsoleteness of the common opinion according to which the economic approach is primarily interested in financial metrics. In as much as the ultimate goal of the scientific process is to identify the most effective cultural heritage preservation and evaluation methods, the study also reflects the public-private interference in this area.

Keywords

• cultural heritage
• financial valuation
• value subjectivism
• economic value
• cultural value