The impact of cell phone towers on residential property prices: evidence from Poland

The externalities generated by cell phone towers have been discussed in the economic literature since 1990s. Recent development of new generation of wireless infrastructure has drawn public attention to the problem, and risen both health and socio-economic concerns. The main goal of the paper is to investigate the impact of cell phone towers on residential property prices in Poland, where problem has not been explored to date. The research was divided on two phases. In the first part we conduct a systematic literature review. As a result of the literature analysis, a total of 11 studies were identified: 4 from the United States, 3 from New Zealand, 2 from Germany and one from Australia and Switzerland. The identification of such a relatively small number of scientific research carried out only in a few countries of the world indicates that the discussed issues are not well not recognized and requires further in-depth research. In the second stage we investigate the impact on cell phone towers in Warsaw (Poland) using spatial hedonic price models. We did not find a statistically and economically significant effect of the proximity of cell phone towers on house prices. The research results contribute to the ongoing debate about the potential negative effects of wireless communication infrastructure on house prices, and have significant policy implications.