Estimating Local Inequality from Nighttime Lights
Economic inequality at the local level has been shown to be an important predictor of people’s political perceptions and preferences. However, research on these questions is hampered by the fact that local inequality is difficult to measure and systematic data collections are rare, in particular in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/22/4624 |
| _version_ | 1797508621902282752 |
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| author | Nils B. Weidmann Gerlinde Theunissen |
| author_facet | Nils B. Weidmann Gerlinde Theunissen |
| author_sort | Nils B. Weidmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Economic inequality at the local level has been shown to be an important predictor of people’s political perceptions and preferences. However, research on these questions is hampered by the fact that local inequality is difficult to measure and systematic data collections are rare, in particular in countries of the Global South. We propose a new measure of local inequality derived from nighttime light (NTL) emissions data. Our measure corresponds to the local inequality in per capita nighttime light emissions, using <i>VIIRS</i>-derived nighttime light emissions data and spatial population data from <i>WorldPop</i>. We validate our estimates using local inequality estimates from the <i>Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)</i> for a sample of African countries. Our results show that nightlight-based inequality estimates correspond well to those derived from survey data, and that the relationship is not due to structural factors such as differences between urban and rural regions. We also present predictive results, where we approximate the (survey-based) level of local inequality with our nighttime light indicator. This illustrates how our approach can be used for new cases where no other data are available. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:06:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dfa12c7130b940028ce3e05cc16ecf9d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:06:31Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-dfa12c7130b940028ce3e05cc16ecf9d2023-11-23T01:20:31ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922021-11-011322462410.3390/rs13224624Estimating Local Inequality from Nighttime LightsNils B. Weidmann0Gerlinde Theunissen1Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, GermanyCluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality”, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, GermanyEconomic inequality at the local level has been shown to be an important predictor of people’s political perceptions and preferences. However, research on these questions is hampered by the fact that local inequality is difficult to measure and systematic data collections are rare, in particular in countries of the Global South. We propose a new measure of local inequality derived from nighttime light (NTL) emissions data. Our measure corresponds to the local inequality in per capita nighttime light emissions, using <i>VIIRS</i>-derived nighttime light emissions data and spatial population data from <i>WorldPop</i>. We validate our estimates using local inequality estimates from the <i>Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)</i> for a sample of African countries. Our results show that nightlight-based inequality estimates correspond well to those derived from survey data, and that the relationship is not due to structural factors such as differences between urban and rural regions. We also present predictive results, where we approximate the (survey-based) level of local inequality with our nighttime light indicator. This illustrates how our approach can be used for new cases where no other data are available.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/22/4624economic inequalitynighttime light emissionsVIIRSspatial measurement |
| spellingShingle | Nils B. Weidmann Gerlinde Theunissen Estimating Local Inequality from Nighttime Lights Remote Sensing economic inequality nighttime light emissions VIIRS spatial measurement |
| title | Estimating Local Inequality from Nighttime Lights |
| title_full | Estimating Local Inequality from Nighttime Lights |
| title_fullStr | Estimating Local Inequality from Nighttime Lights |
| title_full_unstemmed | Estimating Local Inequality from Nighttime Lights |
| title_short | Estimating Local Inequality from Nighttime Lights |
| title_sort | estimating local inequality from nighttime lights |
| topic | economic inequality nighttime light emissions VIIRS spatial measurement |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/22/4624 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nilsbweidmann estimatinglocalinequalityfromnighttimelights AT gerlindetheunissen estimatinglocalinequalityfromnighttimelights |