Journal of Socio-Economics 32 (2003) 549–569 Valuing cultural heritage in a multi-attribute framework microeconomic perspectives and policy implications Massimiliano Mazzanti Department of Economics Institutions and Territory, University of Ferrara, Corso Ercole l d’Este, Ferrara 44100, Italy Abstract The paper addresses the main implications of adopting a microeconomic applied perspective for management and policy aspects of cultural built heritage. Within this framework, the rationale for analysing cultural built heritage as a multi-attribute mixed capital good and for implementing experiment-based valuation tools is addressed. The analysis of the multi-faceted set of services provided by built heritage is crucial for linking supply and demand considerations and for imple- menting innovative policy strategies at the level of individual site. Discrete choice multi-attribute valuation methods are thus presented, investigated and implemented as a practical and sound tool for applied economic analysis in the field. Results deriving from a stated preference anal- ysis on visitors of a worldwide known site in Italy are discussed, focusing on the role of val- uation experiments for the analysis of user preferences and for the associated decision making process. © 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. JEL classification: C9; H4; Q26; Z1 Keywords: Economic valuation; Cultural built heritage; Demand-led policy; Multi-attribute goods; Cultural institutions; User preferences 1. Introduction The assessment and measurement of economic values provided by Cultural Built Heritage (CBH) has increasingly been recognised as a fundamental part of cultural policy (Pearce and Mourato, 1998; Ost and Van Droogenbroeck, 1998). Cultural heritage has economic E-mail address: ma.maz@iol.it (M. Mazzanti). 1053-5357/$ – see front matter © 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.socec.2003.08.009