Can International Benefit Transfer in Cultural Economics Produce Reliable Estimates? Non-Market Valuation of Theater in Denmark and Poland

Cultural goods generate numerous non-market benefits to society that cannot be assessed through market transactions and therefore require non-market valuation techniques. While original non-market valuation studies are costly and time-consuming, the benefit transfer approach offers a practical alternative. This study provides the first international benefit transfer for performing arts and examines the reliability of different transfer approaches using stated preference data from Denmark and Poland. The results show that a benefit function transfer accounting for purchasing power parity yields low transfer errors (3–21%), suggesting relatively high reliability. However, caution is warranted, as challenges remain in valuing activity-based cultural goods, particularly when cultural human-capital externalities are present and the relevant externalities are not well understood by respondents. Further research is needed before benefit transfer can be considered a reliable tool for policy-making in this context.