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Can Medium-Resolution Satellite Imagery Measure Economic Activity at Small Geographies ? Evidence from Landsat in Vietnam

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  • Goldblatt,Ran Philip
  • Heilmann,Kilian Tobias
  • Vaizman,Yonatan

Abstract

This study explores the potential and the limits of medium-resolution satellite data as a proxy for economic activity at small geographic units. Using a commune-level dataset from Vietnam, it compares the performance of commonly used nightlight data and higher resolution Landsat imagery which measures daytime light reflection. The analysis suggests that Landsat outperforms nighttime lights at predicting enterprise counts, employment, and expenditure in simple regression models. A parsimonious combination of the first two moments of the Landsat spectral bands can explain a reasonable share of the variation in economic activity in the cross-section. There is however poor prediction power of either satellite measure for changes over time.

Suggested Citation

  • Goldblatt,Ran Philip & Heilmann,Kilian Tobias & Vaizman,Yonatan, 2019. "Can Medium-Resolution Satellite Imagery Measure Economic Activity at Small Geographies ? Evidence from Landsat in Vietnam," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9088, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:9088
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    File URL: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/168331576612750230/pdf/Can-Medium-Resolution-Satellite-Imagery-Measure-Economic-Activity-at-Small-Geographies-Evidence-from-Landsat-in-Vietnam.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Patrick Lehnert & Michael Niederberger & Uschi Backes-Gellner & Eric Bettinger, 2020. "Proxying Economic Activity with Daytime Satellite Imagery: Filling Data Gaps Across Time and Space," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0165, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW), revised Sep 2022.
    2. Daniel Straulino & Juan C. Saldarriaga & Jairo A. G'omez & Juan C. Duque & Neave O'Clery, 2021. "Uncovering commercial activity in informal cities," Papers 2104.04545, arXiv.org.
    3. Gibson, John & Olivia, Susan & Boe-Gibson, Geua & Li, Chao, 2021. "Which night lights data should we use in economics, and where?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    4. Blankespoor,Brian & Ru,Yating & Wood-Sichra,Ulrike & Chambers,Thomas Timothy & You,Liangzhi & Kalvelagen,Erwin, 2022. "Estimating Local Agricultural GDP across the World," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10109, The World Bank.
    5. John Gibson & Susan Olivia & Geua Boe‐Gibson, 2020. "Night Lights In Economics: Sources And Uses," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(5), pages 955-980, December.
    6. John Gibson, 2021. "Better Night Lights Data, For Longer," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 83(3), pages 770-791, June.
    7. John Gibson & Geua Boe-Gibson, 2020. "Three Facts About Night Lights Data," Working Papers in Economics 20/03, University of Waikato.

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