Cultural heritage evaluation a reappraisal of some critical concepts involved.docVIP

Theoretical and Applied Economics Volume XIX (2012), No. 12(577), pp. 61-72 Cultural heritage evaluation: a reappraisal of some critical concepts involved Mihaela IACOB The Bucharest University of Economic Studies miuiacob@ Felicia ALEXANDRU The Bucharest University of Economic Studies alexandryafelicia@ Meral KAGITCI The Bucharest University of Economic Studies meral_ibraim@ Georgiana Camelia CRE?AN The Bucharest University of Economic Studies georgiana_cretan@ Filip IORGULESCU The Bucharest University of Economic Studies fileos1984@ 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 subjecti- vism; economic value; cultural value. JEL Codes: H23, H41, H43, H82, Q26, Z19. REL Code: 14K.  62 Mihaela Iacob, Felicia Alexandru, Meral Kagitci, Georgiana Camelia Cre?an, Filip Iorgulescu Introduction The mainstream opinion which tends to believe that economists focus too much on financial measures, overlooking the real cultural significance of heritage assets (which make us think about the sense of identity and continuity – heritage assets representing a bridge between the past and the present), proves