Heritage and Cultural Policy

How states, regions, and cities govern, fund, and instrumentalize heritage within broader cultural policy, including its economic and identity dimensions.

Definition

Heritage and cultural policy is the field that studies how public authorities define, regulate, fund, and deploy cultural heritage to pursue economic, social, and identity goals.

Scope

This topic covers the laws, institutions, and funding regimes through which heritage is managed at national and local levels, and its place within cultural policy more broadly. It addresses listing and protection regimes, the use of heritage for tourism, regeneration, and national identity, the economics of heritage as a public good, and the governance role of museums and heritage agencies.

Core questions

• How do governments regulate and fund heritage?
• How is heritage used for tourism, regeneration, and identity?
• What is the economic rationale for public support of heritage?
• How does cultural policy shape what heritage survives?

Key theories

Culture as governmental instrument

Bennett argues that culture, including heritage, functions as a 'reformer's science' — a domain that governments act upon to shape conduct and citizenship, making cultural policy a technique of governance.

The economics of heritage value

Throsby analyzes heritage as a form of cultural capital that yields both economic and cultural value, providing a rationale for public investment and tools for evaluating heritage policy.

History

Modern heritage policy grew from nineteenth-century antiquities and monument laws into elaborate twentieth-century systems of listing, grants, and dedicated agencies. From the 1980s, heritage became increasingly tied to tourism, place marketing, and urban regeneration, while cultural policy studies developed critical accounts of heritage as both an economic asset and an instrument of governance.

Debates

Intrinsic value versus economic instrumentalism

Policy debate weighs support for heritage on intrinsic cultural grounds against justifications based on tourism, jobs, and regeneration, with critics warning that instrumental arguments can distort what is valued and preserved.

Key figures

• Tony Bennett
• David Throsby
• Kate Oakley
• David C. Harvey

Seminal works

• throsby2010
• bennett1998culture
• bell2008

Frequently asked questions

What is cultural policy?

Cultural policy is the set of government actions, laws, institutions, and funding that shape culture and heritage, ranging from museum and heritage funding to broadcasting, the arts, and the creative industries.

Why do governments fund heritage?

Justifications include heritage's intrinsic cultural and educational value, its contribution to identity and social cohesion, and its economic benefits through tourism, employment, and urban regeneration; the balance among these is contested.