A Review of Studies on the Mechanisms of Cultural Heritage Influencing Subjective Well-Being

Shaohua Kong, Hanzun Li () and Ziyi Yu
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Shaohua Kong: Cultural Economics Research Institute, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 100081, China
Hanzun Li: School of Economics and Management, Tibet University, Lhasa 850032, China
Ziyi Yu: School of Economics and Management, Tibet University, Lhasa 850032, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 24, 1-16

Abstract: In 2022, UNESCO advocated for a systemic anchoring of culture in public policies, as an enabler and driver of emotional well-being and environmental sustainability. In recent years, economists have gradually shifted the measurement of well-being from “income” to “quality of life”, which has led to an increasing interest in subjective well-being (SWB) sustainability-related topics in academic research. The purpose of this study is to investigate the mechanisms by which cultural heritage and its derivative activities sustainably affect subjective well-being. To achieve this goal, we maximised relevant literature through conceptual segmentation and combination and conducted a literature review to identify mechanisms validated in previous studies. This study suggests that the richness of cultural heritage may impact subjective well-being and that the extent of this impact is influenced by two factors: the availability of cultural heritage-derived activities and the perception of cultural heritage. Considering the complexity and uniqueness of different cultural heritage perception channels, this paper provides a separate discussion and comparative analysis of different cultural heritage perception channels. This study provides valuable insights, the main idea being that cultural heritage and its derived activities have an impact on the enhancement of human well-being, and, therefore, the sustainable preservation of cultural heritage is important for the sustainable enhancement of human well-being; moreover, it provides suggestions for specific empirical studies to be conducted in the future.

Keywords: cultural heritage; subjective well-being; happiness; cultural heritage derivative activities; cultural tourism industry; human well-being; sustainable well-being; sustainable lifestyle; sustainable development of cultural heritage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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