Using New Nightlight Data from VIIRS Day/Night Band (DNB) as Proxy for Economic Condition

• In Event: Novel Methods in American and Comparative Politics

Brief Overview

I calibrate nighlight data from DMSP-OLS (lower quality, historical coverage) and VIIRS-DNB (higher quality, contemporary coverage) to produce a combined nightlight product that can serve as proxy for economic activity where such data is unavailable.

Author

• Minh Duc Trinh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology