Nighttime lights as a proxy for human development at the local Level
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2017
Author(s)
Abstract
Nighttime lights are increasingly used by social scientists as a proxy for economic activity and economic development in subnational spatial units. However, so far, our understanding of what nighttime lights capture is limited. We construct local indicators of household wealth, education and health from geo-coded Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for 29 African countries. We show that nighttime lights
are positively associated with these indicators across DHS cluster locations as well as across grid cells of roughly 50 � 50 km. We conclude that nighttime lights are a good proxy for human development at the local level.
are positively associated with these indicators across DHS cluster locations as well as across grid cells of roughly 50 � 50 km. We conclude that nighttime lights are a good proxy for human development at the local level.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SEPS - Quantitative Economic Methods
Event Title
CSAE Conference 2017: Economic Development in Africa
Event Location
Oxford, UK
Event Date
19.-21.03.2017
Subject(s)
Contact Email Address
mirjamanna.bruederle@unisg.ch
Eprints ID
251189
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BruederleHodler2017_Nighttime lights as a proxy for human development at the local level_170707.pdf
Size
643.61 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
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