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It's the Phone, Stupid: Mobiles and Murder

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  • Lena Edlund
  • Cecilia Machado

Abstract

US homicide rates fell sharply in the early 1990s, a decade that also saw the mainstreaming of cell phones – a concurrence that may be more than a coincidence, we propose. Cell phones may have undercut turf-based street dealing, thus undermining drug-dealing profits of street gangs, entities known to engage in violent crime. Studying county-level data for the years 1970-2009 we find that the expansion of cellular phone service (as proxied by antenna-structure density) lowered homicide rates in the 1990s. Furthermore, effects were concentrated in urban counties; among Black or Hispanic males; and more gang/drug-associated homicides.

Suggested Citation

  • Lena Edlund & Cecilia Machado, 2019. "It's the Phone, Stupid: Mobiles and Murder," NBER Working Papers 25883, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25883
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    Cited by:

    1. Lena Edlund & Cecilia Machado & Maria Sviatschi, 2022. "Gentrification and the Rising Returns to Skill," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(354), pages 258-292, April.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I0 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • R0 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General

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