{ "title": "When the Night Lights Go On in Asia", "publication": "IMF Blog, September 24, 2019", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2019/09/24/when-the-night-lights-go-on-in-asia", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2019/09/24/when-the-night-lights-go-on-in-asia", "overlayPath": "/en/blogs/articles/2019/09/24/when-the-night-lights-go-on-in-asia/index.md", "summary": "Author: Jiaxiong Yao", "sections": [ { "heading": "Key findings and observations", "content": "- Satellite images of the earth at night (\"night lights\") provide a new metric to measure economic growth and activity.\n- Use of night lights by economists has increased dramatically over the past decade.\n- Based on research and the Chart of the Week, strong economic performance in the past three decades has made Asia much brighter at night.\n- China and India’s sustained growth is explicitly cited as lighting up the night sky.\n- Millions of people have been lifted out of poverty beneath the glittering lights.\n- 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.\n- Night lights data are highly correlated with economic activity and are posted online frequently." }, { "heading": "Uses and analytical strengths of night lights data", "content": "- Track changes over time in conflict-ridden economies.\n- Gauge economic shifts at subnational levels.\n- Re-estimate GDP for economies with a large informal sector.\n- Illuminate conditions in low- and middle-income countries where official data are often incomplete.\n- 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)." }, { "heading": "Implications and broader significance", "content": "- Night lights are described as the footprints countries leave in space and contain vast amounts of data about economic activity and behavior.\n- The growing body of satellite imagery data marks the beginning of the era of big data for economic analysis.\n- Economists are tapping into countless other satellite imagery datasets, signaling \"a new age of discovery, this time from space.\"" }, { "heading": "Institutional context", "content": "- IMFBlog is a forum for views of IMF staff and officials on pressing economic and policy issues.\n- The IMF is described as an organization of 191 countries, based in Washington D.C., working to foster global monetary cooperation and financial stability.\n- 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.\n\nIMF Blog post — When the Night Lights Go On in Asia (Jiaxiong Yao, September 24, 2019)\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/eng-sep23-nightlights-asia.png\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2019/09/24/when-the-night-lights-go-on-in-asia" } ], "bullets": [ "[Markdown version](/en/blogs/articles/2019/09/24/when-the-night-lights-go-on-in-asia/index.md)", "[Structured JSON version](/en/blogs/articles/2019/09/24/when-the-night-lights-go-on-in-asia/index.json)", "[Bundle manifest](/en/blogs/articles/2019/09/24/when-the-night-lights-go-on-in-asia/bundle-manifest.json)", "Authors: Jiaxiong-Yao", "Published: September 24, 2019", "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.", "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).", "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.\"", "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.", "[https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/eng-sep23-nightlights-asia.png](https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/eng-sep23-nightlights-asia.png)" ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/blogs/articles/2019/09/24/when-the-night-lights-go-on-in-asia/index.md", "json": "/en/blogs/articles/2019/09/24/when-the-night-lights-go-on-in-asia/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/blogs/articles/2019/09/24/when-the-night-lights-go-on-in-asia/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-08-27T18:10:34.748Z" }