Cell Phones and the Risk of Brain Cancer Mortality: A Twenty-Five Year Cross-Country Analysis

27 Pages Posted: 16 Oct 2015 Last revised: 1 Mar 2018

See all articles by Hugo M. Mialon

Hugo M. Mialon

Emory University - Department of Economics

Erik Nesson

Ball State University - Department of Economics

Date Written: February 26, 2017

Abstract

We investigate the relationship between cell phones and brain cancer using brain cancer death rates for 86 countries between 1990 and 2014 from the World Health Organization and country-level mobile phone subscription rates from the World Bank. We estimate difference-in-difference models including country and year fixed effects and time-varying country covariates. We find that mobile phone subscription rates are positively and statistically significantly associated with death rates from brain cancer 15-20 years later. As a falsification test, we find few positive associations between mobile phone subscription rates and deaths from rectal, pancreatic, stomach, breast or lung cancer or ischemic heart disease.

Keywords: Mobile phones, cell phones, brain tumor, brain cancer

JEL Classification: I15, O33

Suggested Citation

Mialon, Hugo M. and Nesson, Erik, Cell Phones and the Risk of Brain Cancer Mortality: A Twenty-Five Year Cross-Country Analysis (February 26, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2674296 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2674296

Hugo M. Mialon (Contact Author)

Emory University - Department of Economics ( email )

1602 Fishburne Drive
Atlanta, GA 30322
United States

Erik Nesson

Ball State University - Department of Economics ( email )

Muncie, IN 47306-0340
United States

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