Localised effects of re-allocated real estate mafia assets

In an effort to tackle organised crime, the Italian State implements a policy stipulating that properties confiscated to individuals convicted of mafia-related crimes are reallocated to a new use. The policy is meant to act as both an anti-mafia measure and a way to compensate local communities by converting real-estate assets into public amenities. We assess whether this scheme has an effect on the regeneration of local areas by assessing its impact on the value of properties in the vicinity of re-allocated assets and crime activity. The results unveil a positive effect of re-allocated real estate assets on house prices, driven by mafia strongholds, more deprived neighbourhoods, and areas with more inelastic housing supply. The findings suggest declining effects with distance from the re-allocation site, indicating that the policy impact is highly localised. Part of this effect appears due to a decrease in organised crime activity in the streets where re-allocations have taken place. These findings have implications for the effectiveness of policies aiming to improve the quality of neighbourhoods where mafia presence is more pronounced.