Illuminating Economic Growth

• Author: Jiaxiong Yao
• Position: JIAXIONG YAO is an economist in the IMF's African Department. This article draws on IMF Working Paper 19/77 by Yingyao Hu and Jiaxiong Yao.
• Pages: 48-51

S

cientists have been using satell ite images

of Earth at night—often referred to as

“night lights”—to study human activ ity

and natural events for a lmost 30 years. In

the past decade, economist s have followed suit,

realizing t hat night lights ca n help gauge eco-

nomic growth, map poverty, analy ze inequality,

and tackle numerous questions ot herwise impos-

sible to answer, especially in places where dat a are

lacking. In fact, i f aliens were ever to approach

Earth from its d ark side, they would already know

some basics about the global economy long before

reaching our atmosphere.

Human light shows, exotic seen from space,

have recurrent themes. Take a look at the Korean

peninsula and ga sp at the stark dierence between

the north and the south (see Image 1). It is a con-

trast of darkne ss and brightness, of isolation and

connectedness. Travel back in time and ma rvel at

how fast China and India h ave been lighting up.

It is a story of development and growth, openness

and globalization.

Satellite images of the earth at night reveal the pace of economic growth and much more

Jiaxiong Yao

ILLUMINATING

ECONOMIC

GROWTH

48 FINANCE & DEVELOPMENT | September 2019