This paper, commissioned and funded by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, seeks to clarify the understanding of value in the cultural context, using economics concepts. It develops an economic framework for thinking about value in the cultural context and examines how well various valuation techniques are able to account for such values.

The paper also examines why actual outcomes for the production of cultural and heritage services may differ from what would be considered ‘optimal’ in the economic context. The aim is to outline a framework which can assist policy makers in the cultural sector to intervene more cost effectively and be more conscious of trade-offs amongst different cultural values.

Motu Economic and Public Policy Research (2013). Value and culture: An economic framework. Wellington: Manatū Taonga – Ministry for Culture and Heritage.