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invaluable part of the world heritage. True, some sites and
buildings are so valuable, that the cost benefit criterion does
not apply, and we tend to look at the cost-effectiveness method
to evaluate possible courses of action. But the reality of
available resources makes such exercises few and far between.
The result of such analysis is not only a single number,
the internal economic rate of return (IERR) or even the net
present value (NPV) of the proposed investment; it should also
identify the different actors and the parts of the cost and the
benefit streams that they would assume. This is essential then
in the context of the leitmotif we sketched out (who pays and
who benefits), in order to help set the overall framework for the
regulatory, fiscal and financial plans that would be both equi-
table and effective.
Organizing the Public Finance role
The definition of responsibilities between the national
and local government is important and would require an equal-
ly clear distribution of authority on revenues and expenditures.
The combination of actions at the national and local level
creates the framework within which the individual investment
decisions of the residents and the private sector will be under-
taken. Recognizing the different public sector perspectives of the
local and national governments as well as other involved public
agencies is an important nuance in defining a work program that
is effective and implementable.
Financial analysis. If the economic analysis shows that
returns are positive, then the total benefits of the proposed
investments exceed the total costs. Society as a whole will be
better off; individual sub-groups may be worse off, but the
gains by other sub-groups will outweigh them. In principle any
sub-group of society that is worse off can be compensated by
those that emerge better off. In practice, however, this theo-
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retical compensation of losers often does not occur. The eco-
nomic analysis, therefore, must be supplemented by financial
analysis of the specific impacts of the proposed investments on
particular groups. This is important for three reasons:
• Sustainability: financial flows will determine the sustai-
nability of many activities. Socially beneficial activities have
often failed because agencies charged with implementing them
have not had sufficient resources to do so.
• Incentives: private sector agents need positive financial
flows if they are to respond as hoped; indeed, if they do not
receive them they may not only fail to participate in conserva-
tion efforts but may actively oppose them.
• Equity: some groups that are adversely affected by the
proposed investments may be unable to make their interests be
heard. In the context of historic cities, this is particularly true
of poor residents. Such groups already live in wretched con-
ditions, and it is important to check that the proposed invest-
ments do not, at the very least, aggravate their plight.
Solving the Rubik’s Cube
The
success
of
investments
in
cultural
heritage in historic cities
depends on
the cooperation
of a multiplicity of actors,
whose perspectives must
be taken into account.
Financial analysis needs to
be undertaken for three
groups or sectors:
•
Public
sector:
Public finance issues need
to be examined at several