Heritage and history are two subjects of immense importance
to a nation’s identity which is extremely tough to place a value on them. Museums
are a necessity in today’s society, yet from an economic perspective there are
in a market failure due to the unpredictable measures of demand and supply for
this good. Clearly, we can not just sell all priceless artifacts and testaments
to humanity to the highest bidders. Can you imagine the uproar if the Liberty
Bell, Mona Lisa, or the Statue of David vanish from the public sight into a
private collection? This is why heritage in an economic sense is classified as
a public good.
My
favorite aspect of Italy has been the opportunity to visit museums and learn
about the rich cultural history the country has to offer the world. When we were
in Florence a unique situation arose where half the class wanted to see the
Statue of David in a museum with a entrance fee of 12 euro while the other half
did not want to see it due to the cost. In one of our class discussions about
the economics of heritage that example was brought up as it showcases how museums
need to have a reasonable price to attract visitors in. Me being me definitely paid
the price since I couldn’t bear the thought of being within 100 yards of world
history. It is definitely a tricky situation for museums to be in when determine
a price on heritage and history.
The
article my partner and I presented on “The Economics of Heritage” mentioned how
nonprofit organizations are some of the best groups to preserve heritage and history.
In Italy, most of the heritage sites are run by the state which costs a lot of
money and taxes to keep functioning. The authors explained how in the UK and
the US nonprofits have advantages to running museums such as tax breaks and
they have volunteers instead of employees. The public deserves a reasonable
price to enter museums to see priceless artifacts since heritage is important
to people across the globe.
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| Caesar Coin |
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| Statue of David |
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