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The effect of tourism on crime in Italy: A dynamic panel approach

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  • Biagi, Bianca
  • Brandano, Maria Giovanna
  • Detotto, Claudio

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that, all else being equal, for the case of Italy, tourist areas tend to have a greater amount of crime than non-tourist areas in the long run. Following the literature of the economics of crime à la Becker (1968) and Ehrlich (1973) and using a system GMM approach for the time span 1985-2003, the authors empirically test whether total crime in Italy is affected by tourist arrivals. Findings confirm the initial intuition of a positive relationship between tourism and crime in destinations. When controlling for the difference between tourists and residents in the propensity to be victimized, no relevant differences are found: the likelihood to be victimized is quite similar for the two groups. As a consequence, agglomeration and urbanisation effects seem to be the main explanation for the impact of tourism on crime. One can image that overcrowded cities provide more opportunities to criminals to commit illegal activities regardless of the number of visitors and residents in destinations.

Suggested Citation

  • Biagi, Bianca & Brandano, Maria Giovanna & Detotto, Claudio, 2012. "The effect of tourism on crime in Italy: A dynamic panel approach," Economics Discussion Papers 2012-4, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:ifwedp:20124
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Moundigbaye, Mantobaye & Messemer, Clarisse & Parks, Richard W. & Reed, W. Robert, 2020. "Bootstrap methods for inference in the Parks model," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 14, pages 1-18.
    2. Mantobaye Moundigbaye & William Rea & W. Robert Reed, 2016. "More Evidence On “Which Panel Data Estimator Should I Use?”," Working Papers in Economics 16/18, University of Canterbury, Department of Economics and Finance.
    3. Moundigbaye, Mantobaye & Rea, William S. & Reed, W. Robert, 2018. "Which panel data estimator should I use? A corrigendum and extension," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 12, pages 1-31.
    4. Daniel Montolio & Simón Planells, 2013. "Does tourism boost criminal activity? Evidence from a top touristic country," Working Papers 2013/4, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    5. Brida, Juan Gabriel & Del Chiappa, Giacomo & Meleddu, Marta & Pulina, Manuela, 2012. "Cruise tourism exteralities and residents' support: A mixed approach," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 6, pages 1-26.
    6. Daniel Montolio & Simón Planells, 2013. "Does tourism boost criminal activity? Evidence from a top touristic country," Working Papers 2013/4, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    7. Maria Giovanna Brandano & Marta Meleddu, 2021. "Together or not? Spill-over effects of cultural goods displacement," Tourism Economics, , vol. 27(6), pages 1202-1220, September.
    8. Markianos Kokkinos & Andreas Kapardis, 2015. "Disaggregating Tourists In Cyprus By Money Spent And Criminal Offending," Tourism Research Institute, Journal of Tourism Research, vol. 11(1), pages 61-70, September.
    9. Vedran Recher & Ivica Rubil, 2020. "More Tourism, More Crime: Evidence from Croatia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 651-675, January.
    10. Bahodirhon Safarov & Hisham Mohammad Al-Smadi & Makhina Buzrukova & Bekzot Janzakov & Alexandru Ilieş & Vasile Grama & Dorina Camelia Ilieș & Katalin Csobán Vargáné & Lóránt Dénes Dávid, 2022. "Forecasting the Volume of Tourism Services in Uzbekistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-18, June.
    11. Mehmood, Shafaqat & Ahmad, Zahid & Khan, Ather Azim, 2016. "Dynamic relationships between tourist arrivals, immigrants, and crimes in the United States," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 383-392.
    12. Biagi, Bianca & Brandano, Maria Giovanna & Ortega-Argiles, Raquel, 2021. "Smart specialisation and tourism: Understanding the priority choices in EU regions," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    13. Natalia Sypion-Dutkowska & Marek Dutkowski, 2021. "Impact of Tourism on Crime in the Polish Coastal Zone," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special 4), pages 549-570.
    14. Busani Moyo, 2013. "Crime and the Regional Disparities in Tourist Inflows: A Case Study of South Africa," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 5(6), pages 356-375.
    15. B. Biagi & MG. Brandano & D. Lambiri, 2012. "Does tourism affect house prices? Some evidence from Italy," Working Paper CRENoS 201227, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tourism; crime; externalities;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • K00 - Law and Economics - - General - - - General (including Data Sources and Description)
    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism

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