The Economic Value of Cultural Institutions - a benefit transfer study

衡量文化遗址和文化机构的经济价值带来了挑战。传统的经济影响研究倾向于重视文化的市场效益，例如对就业和总增加值的影响。这忽略了文化和文化机构在人们生活中发挥的重要作用。这一价值很难评估，因为在文化机构/场所免费使用或进入的地方，不存在市场价格。然而，政策评估和投资决策需要了解这一点，不评估这些利益可能会使产生这些利益的活动受到低估。为了进一步巩固这一领域的证据基础，该研究正在评估四个历史城镇/城市及其内四个文化机构（例如，大教堂或区域艺术画廊）的文化价值。它将以货币形式量化使用价值（那些直接使用网站的人对能够使用网站的价值）和非使用价值（包括非用户对网站存在的价值）。评估估计将使用符合英国政府评估指南中要求的标准的方法来获得，因此将有助于为公共文化投资提供证据基础。研究中使用的数据将通过在线调查收集。估值将使用条件估值方法进行估计，在这种方法中，被调查者被要求在假设情景的背景下考虑他们对场地/机构的估值，使他们有意义地考虑他们的货币估值。例如，他们可能准备支付多少钱来防止对场地的破坏。该研究还将审查利益转移的能力（即，特定遗址的价值可以在多大程度上有力地应用于其他遗址的价值），从而使研究结果有可能应用于其他文化遗址。这将通过分析所估计的价值在分析的场址内是否具有可比性来评估。

Measuring the economic value of cultural sites and institutions poses challenges. Traditional economic impact studies have tended to value the market benefits of culture, such as the impacts on employment and gross value added. This ignores the important contribution that culture and cultural institutions play in people's lives. This value is harder to assess as market prices will not exist where cultural institutions/places are free to use or access. However an understanding of this is required for policy evaluation and investment decisions, and not valuing these benefits risks that the activities which generate them are under-appreciated.To further the evidence base in this area, the research is estimating the value of culture at four historic towns/cities and for four cultural institutions located within them (cathedrals or regional art galleries, for example). It will quantify in monetary terms the use values (the values that those who directly use the site put on being able to use them) and non-use values (including the value that non-users place on the sites' existence). The valuation estimates will be obtained using a methodology that meets the criteria required by the UK Government in its evaluation guidance and so will contribute to the evidence base for public investment in culture. The data used in the study will be collected through an online survey. Valuations will be estimated using a contingent valuation methodology, where those surveyed are asked to consider their valuation of the site/institution in the context of a hypothetical scenario that makes them meaningfully consider their valuation in monetary terms. For example, how much they might be prepared to pay to prevent the scenario of damage to a site. The research will also examine the capacity for benefits transfer (i.e. the extent to which values from particular sites can be robustly applied to value other sites), allowing the findings from the study to be potentially applied to other cultural sites. This will be assessed by analysing whether the values estimated are comparable within the sites in the analysis.