When the Night Lights Go On in Asia
IMF Blog, September 24, 2019
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Jiaxiong-Yao
- Published: September 24, 2019
Key findings and observations
- Satellite images of the earth at night ("night lights") provide a new metric to measure economic growth and activity.
- Use of night lights by economists has increased dramatically over the past decade.
- Based on research and the Chart of the Week, strong economic performance in the past three decades has made Asia much brighter at night.
- China and India’s sustained growth is explicitly cited as lighting up the night sky.
- Millions of people have been lifted out of poverty beneath the glittering lights.
- The pace of development is uneven: some places remain in the dark; North Korea is noted as remaining shrouded between China’s thriving northeast and booming South Korea.
- Night lights data are highly correlated with economic activity and are posted online frequently.
Uses and analytical strengths of night lights data
- Track changes over time in conflict-ridden economies.
- Gauge economic shifts at subnational levels.
- Re-estimate GDP for economies with a large informal sector.
- Illuminate conditions in low- and middle-income countries where official data are often incomplete.
- Compare night lights before and after wars or natural disasters to reveal devastating and unequal impacts within countries (example noted: Mozambique before and after the cyclone Idai this year).
Implications and broader significance
- Night lights are described as the footprints countries leave in space and contain vast amounts of data about economic activity and behavior.
- The growing body of satellite imagery data marks the beginning of the era of big data for economic analysis.
- Economists are tapping into countless other satellite imagery datasets, signaling "a new age of discovery, this time from space."
Institutional context
- IMFBlog is a forum for views of IMF staff and officials on pressing economic and policy issues.
- The IMF is described as an organization of 191 countries, based in Washington D.C., working to foster global monetary cooperation and financial stability.
- A disclaimer: the views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF and its Executive Board.
IMF Blog post — When the Night Lights Go On in Asia (Jiaxiong Yao, September 24, 2019)
