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More is worse: the evolution of quality of the UNESCO World Heritage List and its determinants

Author

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  • Martina Dattilo

    (CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Fabio Padovano

    (CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, ROMA TRE - Università degli Studi Roma Tre = Roma Tre University)

  • Yvon Rocaboy

    (CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

This paper empirically analyzes the evolution of the quality of the sites included in the UNESCO World Heritage List (WHL) from 1972 till 2016 and verifies how consideration of quality affects the conclusions of the literature about the politics of the WHL. The quality of a site is proxied by the number of criteria set by UNESCO that the site satisfies. The analysis shows that, under a fixed stock of cultural and natural capital, as a country increases the number of sites in the WHL, their marginal quality decreases, because countries propose sites of decreasing quality over time. Contrary to previous studies focusing just on the number of sites included in the list, considering quality shows that the country's lobbying power does not matter for inclusion in the WHL, while the quality of its administration does. These results are robust to tests of the stability of the UNESCO evaluation criteria over time and to changes of econometric estimators.

Suggested Citation

  • Martina Dattilo & Fabio Padovano & Yvon Rocaboy, 2022. "More is worse: the evolution of quality of the UNESCO World Heritage List and its determinants," Post-Print hal-03554241, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03554241
    DOI: 10.1007/s10824-021-09439-y
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-03554241
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    Cited by:

    1. Martina Dattilo & Fabio Padovano & Yvon Rocaboy, 2025. "Soft-power and pro-European bias in the UNESCO World Heritage List? A test based on ICOMOS experts’ evaluations of colonial sites," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 204(3), pages 425-456, September.
    2. Bertacchini, Enrico & Revelli, Federico & Zotti, Roberto, 2024. "The economic impact of UNESCO World Heritage: Evidence from Italy," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    3. Martina Dattilo & Fabio Padovano, 2025. "Evaluating the quality of UNESCO World Heritage List: a comparison with the Baedeker’s guidebooks," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 49(1), pages 23-47, March.
    4. Martina Dattilo & Fabio Padovano & Yvon Rocaboy, 2025. "Rent seeking at the margin? Theory and evidence from unesco’s world heritage list," Post-Print hal-05305273, HAL.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • H87 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - International Fiscal Issues; International Public Goods
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • F53 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Agreements and Observance; International Organizations
    • O19 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations
    • Z11 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economics of the Arts and Literature
    • L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality

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