Do satellite night images of a country shows its GDP?
A large body of research shows that the brightness of a country’s nighttime lights. As seen from satellites, is highly correlated with GDP growth. The more money people have, the more likely they are to have lights on at night. Businesses will also stay open later, resulting in even more light.
Satellite images of night time lights have contributed to our understanding of economic activity for more than a decade. For example, nighttime lights can help approximate GDP growth in small spatial units over time. Recent technological innovations have expanded potential applications. Data is now available at a monthly frequency, in a finer spatial grid. And with more sensitive measurement of low-light areas. These innovations allow nighttime light data to be used to study the short-run impact...