Is there a relationship between housing deprivation and crime? Evidence for the Spanish case

Abstract

Purpose– CrimeincreasedinSpainduring theperiod of 2017–2019 after a decadeof decline. This coincides with severe housing deprivation multiplying by three in just four years, affecting 3.4% of the population in 2020. However, no research has been found that analyzes whether this deterioration of the physical conditions of housing and its environmental elements has impacted the level of crime in Spain. This study aims to analyze howhousingdeprivationaffects crime in the Spanish context. Design/methodology/approach– For this purpose, different items that are considered by Eurostat as elements of housing deprivation areused. Thedifference generalized method of moments estimator is used for 16 Spanishregions that comprises theperiod from 2013 to2019. Findings– Theresultssuggestthatcertainstructural andenvironmentalelements of housing arepositively associated with crime: space (0.5% and 0.4%) and high housing expenditure (0.4% and 0.5%) are positively correlated with the two dependent variables; the lack of light and overcrowding stand out as they establish a positive and statistically significant association with four out of the six analyzed crime categories; the absence of lighting effect reaches up to 1.8% and 1.7% in the case of violent robberies and vehicle theft, respectively. Finally, pollution is negatively associated with robbery with violence ( 1.9%), theft ( 0.7%) and robbery with force ( 0.5%). Originality/value– To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study that examines whether this deterioration of the physical conditions of housing has impacted the level of crime in Spain. It is also pioneering at the European level by usingnonmonetary dimensionsofinequalitysuch ashousing.