IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/regeco/v105y2024ics0166046224000206.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The economic impact of UNESCO World Heritage: Evidence from Italy

Author

Listed:
  • Bertacchini, Enrico
  • Revelli, Federico
  • Zotti, Roberto

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of the UNESCO World Heritage List (WHL) inscription on income and property values in Italian municipalities with heritage sites inscribed during the past two decades. To address the selection bias and identify the causal impact of inscription, we focus on municipalities having sites included in the national ‘tentative list’ (i.e., a list of candidates for subsequent nomination) and exploit the plausibly exogenous timing of inscription conditional upon being on the list. The evidence from a heterogeneity-robust event study analysis suggests that WHL listing has a significant impact on income and property prices in urban areas. Possible underlying mechanisms are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Bertacchini, Enrico & Revelli, Federico & Zotti, Roberto, 2024. "The economic impact of UNESCO World Heritage: Evidence from Italy," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:regeco:v:105:y:2024:i:c:s0166046224000206
    DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2024.103996
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166046224000206
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2024.103996?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shultz, Steven D & King, David A, 2001. "The Use of Census Data for Hedonic Price Estimates of Open-Space Amenities and Land Use," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 22(2-3), pages 239-252, March-May.
    2. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Nancy Holman, 2018. "Distinctively Different: A New Approach to Valuing Architectural Amenities," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(608), pages 1-33, February.
    3. Benjamin Faber & Cecile Gaubert, 2019. "Tourism and Economic Development: Evidence from Mexico's Coastline," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(6), pages 2245-2293, June.
    4. Brueckner, Jan K. & Thisse, Jacques-Francois & Zenou, Yves, 1999. "Why is central Paris rich and downtown Detroit poor?: An amenity-based theory," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 91-107, January.
    5. Sevrin Waights, 2019. "The preservation of historic districts—is it worth it?," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 433-464.
    6. Yang, Chih-Hai & Lin, Hui-Lin & Han, Chia-Chun, 2010. "Analysis of international tourist arrivals in China: The role of World Heritage Sites," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 827-837.
    7. Christian A. L. Hilber & Wouter Vermeulen, 2016. "The Impact of Supply Constraints on House Prices in England," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(591), pages 358-405, March.
    8. Fritsch, Markus & Haupt, Harry & Ng, Pin T., 2016. "Urban house price surfaces near a World Heritage Site: Modeling conditional price and spatial heterogeneity," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 260-275.
    9. Christian A. L. Hilber, 2017. "The Economic Implications of House Price Capitalization: A Synthesis," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 45(2), pages 301-339, April.
    10. Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C. & Zhao, Jun, 2020. "Doubly robust difference-in-differences estimators," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 219(1), pages 101-122.
    11. Clément de Chaisemartin & Xavier D’Haultfœuille, 2023. "Two-way fixed effects and differences-in-differences with heterogeneous treatment effects: a survey," The Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 26(3), pages 1-30.
    12. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Kristoffer Moeller & Sevrin Waights & Nicolai Wendland, 2017. "Game of Zones: The Political Economy of Conservation Areas," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(605), pages 421-445, October.
    13. Callaway, Brantly & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C., 2021. "Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 200-230.
    14. Roberto Patuelli & Maurizio Mussoni & Guido Candela, 2016. "The Effects of World Heritage Sites on Domestic Tourism: A Spatial Interaction Model for Italy," Advances in Spatial Science, in: Roberto Patuelli & Giuseppe Arbia (ed.), Spatial Econometric Interaction Modelling, chapter 0, pages 281-315, Springer.
    15. Hans R. A. Koster & Jos N. van Ommeren & Piet Rietveld, 2016. "Historic amenities, income and sorting of households," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(1), pages 203-236.
    16. Franco, Sofia F. & Macdonald, Jacob L., 2018. "The effects of cultural heritage on residential property values: Evidence from Lisbon, Portugal," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 35-56.
    17. Doruk Cengiz & Arindrajit Dube & Attila Lindner & Ben Zipperer, 2019. "The Effect of Minimum Wages on Low-Wage Jobs," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(3), pages 1405-1454.
    18. Rizzo, Ilde & Throsby, David, 2006. "Cultural Heritage: Economic Analysis and Public Policy," Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, in: V.A. Ginsburgh & D. Throsby (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 28, pages 983-1016, Elsevier.
    19. Xiaodi Li, 2022. "Do new housing units in your backyard raise your rents? [Estimates of the size and source of price declines due to nearby foreclosures]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(6), pages 1309-1352.
    20. Cuccia, Tiziana & Guccio, Calogero & Rizzo, Ilde, 2016. "The effects of UNESCO World Heritage List inscription on tourism destinations performance in Italian regions," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 494-508.
    21. van Duijn, Mark & Rouwendal, Jan, 2021. "Sorting based on urban heritage and income: Evidence from the Amsterdam metropolitan area," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    22. Bruno Frey & Paolo Pamini & Lasse Steiner, 2013. "Explaining the World Heritage List: an empirical study," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 60(1), pages 1-19, March.
    23. Enrico Bertacchini & Donatella Saccone, 2012. "Toward a political economy of World Heritage," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 36(4), pages 327-352, November.
    24. Coulson, N Edward & Leichenko, Robin M, 2001. "The Internal and External Impact of Historical Designation on Property Values," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 113-124, July.
    25. Faroek Lazrak & Peter Nijkamp & Piet Rietveld & Jan Rouwendal, 2014. "The market value of cultural heritage in urban areas: an application of spatial hedonic pricing," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 89-114, January.
    26. Markus Brückner & Evi Pappa, 2015. "News Shocks in the Data: Olympic Games and Their Macroeconomic Effects," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(7), pages 1339-1367, October.
    27. John M. Piotrowski & Mr. Rabah Arezki & Reda Cherif, 2009. "Tourism Specialization and Economic Development: Evidence from the UNESCO World Heritage List," IMF Working Papers 2009/176, International Monetary Fund.
    28. Cellini, Roberto, 2011. "Is UNESCO recognition effective in fostering tourism? A comment on Yang, Lin and Han," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 452-454.
    29. Hilber, Christian A.L. & Mayer, Christopher, 2009. "Why do households without children support local public schools? Linking house price capitalization to school spending," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 74-90, January.
    30. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Kristoffer Moeller & Sevrin Waights & Nicolai Wendland, 2017. "Game of Zones: The Political Economy of Conservation Areas," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(605), pages 421-445, October.
    31. Martina Dattilo & Fabio Padovano & Yvon Rocaboy, 2023. "More is worse: the evolution of quality of the UNESCO World Heritage List and its determinants," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 47(1), pages 71-96, March.
    32. Alberto Abadie, 2005. "Semiparametric Difference-in-Differences Estimators," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 72(1), pages 1-19.
    33. Firgo, Matthias, 2021. "The causal economic effects of Olympic Games on host regions," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    34. Gianandrea Lanzara & G. Alfredo Minerva, 2019. "Tourism, amenities, and welfare in an urban setting," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 452-479, June.
    35. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Nancy Holman, 2018. "Distinctively Different: A New Approach to Valuing Architectural Amenities," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(608), pages 1-33.
    36. Zhou, Yang, 2021. "The political economy of historic districts: The private, the public, and the collective," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    37. Jan K. Brueckner & Jacques-François Thisse & Yves Zenou, 1999. "Why is central Paris rich and downtown Detroit poor?," Post-Print hal-04103047, HAL.
    38. Elisa Panzera & Thomas de Graaff & Henri L.F. de Groot, 2021. "European cultural heritage and tourism flows: The magnetic role of superstar World Heritage Sites," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(1), pages 101-122, February.
    39. Elina Simone & Rosaria Rita Canale & Amedeo Maio, 2019. "Do UNESCO World Heritage Sites Influence International Tourist Arrivals? Evidence from Italian Provincial Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 146(1), pages 345-359, November.
    40. Yang, Yang & Xue, Lan & Jones, Thomas E., 2019. "Tourism-enhancing effect of World Heritage Sites: Panacea or placebo? A meta-analysis," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 29-41.
    41. Canale, Rosaria Rita & De Simone, Elina & Di Maio, Amedeo & Parenti, Benedetta, 2019. "UNESCO World Heritage sites and tourism attractiveness: The case of Italian provinces," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 114-120.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bertacchini, Enrico & Revelli, Federico & Zotti, Roberto, 2023. "Lord, how I want to be in that number! On the blessing of UNESCO World Heritage listing," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 202304, University of Turin.
    2. Hilber, Christian A.L. & Palmer, Charles & Pinchbeck, Edward W., 2019. "The energy costs of historic preservation," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    3. Zhou, Yang, 2021. "The political economy of historic districts: The private, the public, and the collective," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    4. Viladecans-Marsal, Elisabet & Garcia-Lopez, Miquel-Angel & Pasidis, Ilias, 2018. "Amphitheaters, cathedrals and operas: The role of historic amenities on suburbanization," CEPR Discussion Papers 13129, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Franco, Sofia F. & Macdonald, Jacob L., 2018. "The effects of cultural heritage on residential property values: Evidence from Lisbon, Portugal," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 35-56.
    6. van Vuuren, Aico, 2022. "Is There a Diminishing Value of Urban Amenities as a Result of the COVID-19 Pandemic?," IZA Discussion Papers 15025, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Portillo, Javier E. & Wagner, Gary A., 2021. "Do cultural districts spur urban revitalization: Evidence from Louisiana," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 651-673.
    8. Jamie Bologna Pavlik & Yang Zhou, 2023. "Are historic districts a backdoor for segregation? Yes and no," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(3), pages 415-434, July.
    9. Koster, Hans R.A. & van Ommeren, Jos & Volkhausen, Nicolas, 2021. "Short-term rentals and the housing market: Quasi-experimental evidence from Airbnb in Los Angeles," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    10. Yang, Yang & Xue, Lan & Jones, Thomas E., 2019. "Tourism-enhancing effect of World Heritage Sites: Panacea or placebo? A meta-analysis," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 29-41.
    11. Canale, Rosaria Rita & De Simone, Elina & Di Maio, Amedeo & Parenti, Benedetta, 2019. "UNESCO World Heritage sites and tourism attractiveness: The case of Italian provinces," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 114-120.
    12. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Nancy Holman, 2018. "Distinctively Different: A New Approach to Valuing Architectural Amenities," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(608), pages 1-33, February.
    13. Roth, Jonathan & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C. & Bilinski, Alyssa & Poe, John, 2023. "What’s trending in difference-in-differences? A synthesis of the recent econometrics literature," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 235(2), pages 2218-2244.
    14. Waights, Sevrin, 2018. "Does gentrification displace poor households? An ‘identification-via-interaction’ approach," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 88691, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Gabriel Ahlfeldt & Kristoffer Möller & Sevrin Waights & Nicolai Wendland, 2012. "On prisoner's dilemmas and gilded cages: The economics of heritage preservation," ERSA conference papers ersa12p783, European Regional Science Association.
    16. Bernardina Algieri & Antonio à lvarez, 2023. "Assessing the ability of regions to attract foreign tourists: The case of Italy," Tourism Economics, , vol. 29(3), pages 788-811, May.
    17. van Duijn, Mark & Rouwendal, Jan, 2021. "Sorting based on urban heritage and income: Evidence from the Amsterdam metropolitan area," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    18. Elina Simone & Rosaria Rita Canale & Amedeo Maio, 2019. "Do UNESCO World Heritage Sites Influence International Tourist Arrivals? Evidence from Italian Provincial Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 146(1), pages 345-359, November.
    19. Yu-Xia Lin & Ming-Hsiang Chen & Bi-Shu Lin & Shu-Yin Tseng & Ching-Hui (Joan) Su, 2021. "Nonlinear impact of World Heritage Sites on China’s tourism expansion," Tourism Economics, , vol. 27(4), pages 795-819, June.
    20. Cuberes, David & Roberts, Jennifer & Sechel, Cristina, 2019. "Household location in English cities," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 120-135.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    UNESCO World Heritage List; Economic impact; Real estate market; Tourism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H73 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Interjurisdictional Differentials and Their Effects

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:regeco:v:105:y:2024:i:c:s0166046224000206. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/regec .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.