Download - Economic Valuation of a World Heritage Site
ECONOMIC VALUATION OF A WORLD HERITAGE SITE:
CITIZEN’S NON-USE VALUES FOR THE CHURCH OF STO.
TOMAS DE VILLANOVA (MIAGAO CHURCH)
Nasser Domingo & Rowe Roquez
Econ 199.1
BACKGROUND
The Philippines consists of approximately 98 million
citizens; 90% of which are Christians, with about
80% belonging to the Roman Catholic Church (CIA,
2010).
Catholicism is one of the most distinguishing
characteristics of the Filipino people as an influence
of the colonization of the Spaniards. One of the
most notable emblems of the Catholics is their
churches.
Some of these churches have unique architectural
style – an interpretation of European Baroque by
Chinese and Philippine craftsmen, that four
churches were classified as UNESCO World
Heritage Sites in 1993 (UNESCO, 1993).
The four churches include the Church of San Agustin
in Intramuros, Manila; the Church of La Nuestra
Señora de la Asuncion, in Santa Maria Ilocos Sur;
the Church of San Agustin, in Paoay, Ilocos Norte,
and finally; the Church of Santo Tomas de
Villanova, in Miag-ao, Iloilo
The Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva withstood
the occasional attacks from Muslims coming from
the south. The church and its watchtowers had been
built with thick walls and secret passages to defend
the town and its people. The defensive purpose of
the Church led to the popular name The Miag-ao
Fortress Church (Chemma, 2009).
The research will aim to conduct an economic
valuation of the non-market benefits of maintaining a
UNESCO World Heritage Site and to determine how
people value the said site.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
There have been very few studies regarding the
valuation of cultural heritage sites, as well as
information regarding as to the effects of such
studies to the present value and treatment of an
existing resource or structure.
Like the valuation of any cultural heritage site, any
individual’s willingness to pay for its conservation
and rehabilitation is affected by various factors.
These factors may affect their WTP in different ways
– positively, negatively or with an unknown direction
of effect. This conundrum may be enlightened by a
detailed profile and survey of the population
affected, evaluated with their willingness to pay.
Being a world heritage site, the Miagao church
should be provided with adequate funding for its
preservation. However, there are very few sources
for these funding, with the government providing
only but a generous amount fairly enough to make
small improvements and maintenance in the church.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will be undertaken to provide information
on how citizens value the Miagao Church, which is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site through their
willingness to pay for its conservation.
The results of this study could be used to estimate
financial support for preserving the said site by the
government.
In addition, the results of this study can also be used
to provide contributions in exploring alternative
sources of financing the conservation of the Santo
Tomas de Villanueva Church.
Finally, this study also aims to inspire and focus
future research efforts on economic aspects of
heritage site preservation.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
GENERAL OBJECTIVE
The research generally aims to determine how a
UNESCO World Heritage Site is valued, as well as
provide factors affecting their willingness to pay.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
Measure the knowledge and interest or attitude of
people towards the subject of conservation and
management of cultural heritage sites, more
specifically, the Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva
in Miagao, Iloilo.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
Assess socio-economic and demographic factors
affecting the willingness to pay for the conservation
and management of the Santo Tomas de Villanueva
church.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
Recommend policies regarding the sources for
funding, as well as the efforts that can be taken to
preserve and manage the heritage site.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Theoretical Framework
ECONOMIC VALUATION
Economic valuation refers to the assignment of
money values to non-marketed assets, goods
and services, where the money values have a
particular and precise meaning. (Pearce, et. al. 2002)
Non-marketed goods and services refer to those
which are not directly bought and sold in the
market place.
When an environmental resource simply exists and
provides us with products and services at no extra
cost, then it is our WTP alone that describes the
value of the resource.
The aim of economic valuation techniques is to
uncover the total economic value (TEV) of the
good in question.
In this study, the good that will be under economic
valuation will be a heritage site. According to
Pagiola(1996) heritage site problems share many
characteristics with problems encountered in
environmental economics.
TOTAL ECONOMIC VALUE
The economic value of something can be regarded as
the extent to which people would be willing to
sacrifice something else in order to obtain or
safeguard a quantity of it. Total economic value
comprises the sum of use and non-use values.
TOTAL ECONOMIC VALUE
Use values maybe direct (e.g. consuming the good),
or indirect (e.g. functional benefits of an ecosystem)
TOTAL ECONOMIC VALUE
In addition to these values, individuals may be
willing to pay to conserve for future use. These are
the option value, in which the individual is willing
to pay for the conservation or preservation of the
good for his/her own future use, and bequest value,
wherein an individual’s WTP for conservation of the
good for the future use of others.
TOTAL ECONOMIC VALUE
NON-USE VALUES
Non-use value refers to the value placed upon a
non-rival and non-excludable public good
characteristic that are usually possessed by natural
and heritage sites. These values are not consumable
by individuals or tradable through markets.
NON-USE VALUES
Non-use values include:
Existence value
People value the existence of the good
(heritage site in this study) even though they may
not consume or use its services directly
NON-USE VALUES
Non-use values include:
Option value
People wish to preserve the good that they or
others might consume the good or asset in the
future
NON-USE VALUES
Non-use values include:
Bequest value
People may wish to bequeath or preserve the
good for the future generation
NON-USE VALUES
Non-use values include:
Quasi-option value
Derived from the possibility that even though
a site may seem unimportant now, information
received later might lead us to reevaluate it.
CONTINGENT VALUATION METHOD
Contingent Valuation Method is a survey method in
which an individual is asked how much they are
willing to pay for the use or conservation of natural
goods, and in this study, a heritage good.
CONTINGENT VALUATION METHOD
The actual valuation can be obtained in a number of
ways: respondents can be asked to name a figure,
having them to choose from a number of options, or
asking them whether they would pay a specific
amount (follow-up questions with higher or lower
amount are often used).
CONTINGENT VALUATION METHOD
CVM can be used to value any environmental
benefit. It concentrates on the non-market good or
service as a whole.
CONTINGENT VALUATION METHOD
Navrud and Ready (2002) stated that cultural
heritage goods are well suited to CV studies because
most respondents accept the idea of the public
provision of these goods.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Empirical Framework
WTP
WTP, or willingness to pay, is the value an
individual is willing to give up for a good or
benefit. Because CVM is based on welfare
economics, WTP amounts are related to the
individual’s preference.
WTP
WTP of an individual is also affected by certain
socio-economic factors (e.g. age, sex). In this
study, the WTP values that will be gathered will be
focused on the non-use value or benefit of the good.
WTP
WTP will be the amount or value an individual is
willing to give up for the preservation and
maintenance of a cultural heritage site.
WTP
WTP = f ( P, I, S)
Where:
f- determining factors
P- bid price
I-income
S- socio-economic factors (e.g. age, gender, educational
background)
WTP QUESTION
The dichotomous choice format question will be as follows:
(adapted from Subade, 2005)
Would you be willing to pay _____ (figure randomly selected)
pesos as your yearly contribution to the trust fund for the
next five years, in order to preserve and for the maintenance
of Sto. Tomas de Villanova, or commonly known as Miagao
Church which is a UNESCO world heritage site? Please keep
in mind your present income and financial commitments.”
METHODOLOGY
LOCALE OF THE STUDY
Iloilo city will be the locale of the study. The
researcher decided that this will be an adequate
locale for the study since it is the capital of Iloilo,
and is within just the right proximity to the heritage
site, but not too close either, to influence biases, as
well as use values.
LOCALE OF THE STUDY
The study will focus in the non-use value of the
heritage site, and using Miagao as the locale of the
study might result in inconsistencies in the results.
LOCALE OF THE STUDY
As previously mentioned, Iloilo city is the capital of
the province of Iloilo. This being stated, it also holds
true that the capital holds the most number of
households. This may also be helpful to acquire more
diverse and a wider range of participants.
DATA SOURCES
Primary Data Sources
The primary source of data for the research
will be surveys that will be personally delivered,
followed-up, and collected from households in the
locale of the study. Personal interviews will also be
conducted.
DATA SOURCES
Secondary Data Sources
Secondary data that will be used in the research will
be derived from previous studies and published works in
valuation, preservation, conservation and management of other
heritage sites, as well as the internet for other sources that are
only available through digital media, and other websites built
specifically for the purpose of preservation and conservation of
heritage sites, and methods to derive their values.
SAMPLING
Since the locale of the study is specific, and there
are areas that are to be excluded, a purposive
sampling method is the appropriate method.
SAMPLING
The study aims for the area with the largest number
of households in a given area, and an acceptable
proximity as not to affected by biases or negligence,
the most ideal locale will be the Iloilo City, the
capital of the province of Iloilo.
PRE-TEST
A pre-test will be conducted to determine the values
that will be used as choices in the questionnaire that
will be in the dichotomous choice format. The pre-
test will be containing open-ended questions
regarding the WTP of the respondents.
DATA GATHERING
Data will be gathered through surveys that will be
personally delivered, followed-up, and collected.
Personal interviews will also be conducted
depending on the preference and availability of the
respondents.
VARIABLES OF THE STUDY
Independent Variables
The independent variables of the study
include age, gender, educational attainment,
household income, and bid price. These variables
are the factors that are expected to affect the
WTP results.
VARIABLES OF THE STUDY
Dependent Variable
The only dependent variable in the study is
the willingness to pay of each household.
STATISTICAL TOOL
Logit regression will be used to measure the degree
of dependence of the dependent variable to the
independent variables. It will be used to correlate
the respondents’ WTP to the respondents’ socio-
economic status. A computer software will be used
to make this measurement; preferably SPSS.
END.