Measuring the Public Well-Being & Economic Value of Banco de México’s Museums & Programs

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people visit Banco de México’s museums and participate in its public programs. Unquestionably, all these people perceive that they derive real value from these experiences, otherwise they would not participate. However, currently no one has been able to accurately determine what the value of these experiences are, either to the people who engage in these experiences or to society. The purpose of this research study is to define and measure that value, in a verifiable, empirical, and monetizable way.

Building on Falk’s theoretical ideas and ILI’s extensive previous research (see Falk, 2021; [Finland Final Report and FINAL Measuring the Public Value of Art Museums TECHNICAL REPORT2.1) which has demonstrated the feasibility of using well-being as a framework for understanding and measuring, as well as ultimately monetizing the value of museum experiences, this study will assess the social and economic value of user experiences at Banco de México’s A series of studies involving more than three dozen museums and thousands of visitors from three countries has demonstrated the feasibility of collecting and monetizing the well-being-related value of museum and other comparable experiences. This project will seek to assess the Banco de México’s portfolio of 4 museums and 1 of its sponsored programs – Museo Banco de México, The Frida Kahlo Museum, Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli and Franz Mayer Museum, and the Cátedra Banco De México Lecture Series – in a single study that rigorously measures and computes the social and monetary value audiences gain from participating in these experiences. Although different approaches will be required to cover such a diversity of experiences, collectively the study will seek to demonstrate the economic return-on-investment these museums and program generate through the enhancement of the public’s personal, intellectual, social, and physical well-being.

It is hoped that this research will help to inform discussions in Mexico about the substantial societal and economic value that the Banco de México helps support through its various public-facing activities.

Project Team: John H. Falk Ph.D., Lynn Dierking, Nicole Claudio, and Elysa Corin