Abstract

The author claims that for the cultural sector the same problem is posed by public intervention in general: this must be judged by its macroeconomic effects, above all by trying to measure the effect produced by using appropriate measurement methodologies. Evaluating public programs and projects also aims to demonstrate that public intervention can be more effective than the private market. According to the author, a substitution of the public sector with the private sector would have the opposite result: a lower amount of employment and profits. The author deals with other themes, such as the economic dimensions of the cultural heritage sector, the value of cultural heritage in itself, a critical examination of the comparison between the cultural heritage and the oil fields.