Nighttime Lights as a Proxy for Economic Performance of Regions

Studying and managing regional economic development in the current globalization era demands prompt, reliable, and comparable estimates for a region’s economic performance. Night-time lights (NTL) emitted from residential areas, entertainment places, industrial facilities, etc., and captured by satellites have become an increasingly recognized proxy for on-ground human activities. Compared to traditional indicators supplied by statistical offices, NTLs may have several advantages. First, NTL data are available all over the world, providing researchers and official bodies with the opportunity to obtain estimates even for regions with extremely poor reporting practices. Second, in contrast to non-standardized traditional reporting procedures, the unified NTL data remove the problem of inter-regional comparability. Finally, NTL data are currently globally available on a daily basis, which makes it possible to obtain these estimates promptly. In this book, we provide the reader with the contributions demonstrating the potential and efficiency of using NTL data as a proxy for the performance of regions

Spatiotemporal Variations of City-Level Carbon Emissions in China during 2000–2017 Using Nighttime Light Data

China is one of the largest carbon emitting countries in the world. Numerous strategies have been considered by the Chinese government to mitigate carbon emissions in recent years. Accurate and timely estimation of spatiotemporal variations of city-level carbon emissions is of vital importance for planning of low-carbon strategies. For an assessment of the spatiotemporal variations of city-level carbon emissions in China during the periods 2000–2017, we used nighttime light data as a proxy from two sources: Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) data and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (NPP-VIIRS). The results show that cities with low carbon emissions are located in the western and central parts of China. In contrast, cities with high carbon emissions are mainly located in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region (BTH) and Yangtze River Delta (YRD). Half of the cities of China have been making eorts to reduce carbon emissions since 2012, and regional disparities among cities are steadily decreasing. Two clusters of high-emission cities located in the BTH and YRD followed two dierent paths of carbon emissions owing to the diverse political status and pillar industries. We conclude that carbon emissions in China have undergone a transformation to decline, but a very slow balancing between the spatial pattern of high-emission versus low-emission regions in China can be presumed

Evidence from Satellite Nighttime Lights

학위논문(박사) -- 서울대학교대학원 : 사회과학대학 경제학부, 2021.8. 곽노준.This dissertation investigates the status and the determinants of regional economic performance in North Korea, overcoming data limitations of regional research on the North Korean economy using nighttime light data and geospatial data. The first chapter estimates regional level GDP per capita, assessing the regional economic inequality of North Korea at the county level using nighttime light as a proxy for economic level. The research calculates base gross regional domestic product (GRDP) per capita based on urbanization rates and Bank of Korea’s GDP estimates and derives nighttime light-based GRDP per capita based on the relationship between base GRDP per capita and nighttime light. It also assesses the inequality of North Korean regions at the county level, revealing severe county-level inequality within the province, representing 87% of the total inequality, whereas most previous studies have focused on between-province inequality. In the second chapter, the determinants of regional economic performance in the Kim Jong-un era are analyzed using nighttime light as a proxy for economic performance, revealing that market size and involvement in trade, measured as proximity to trade hubs, contribute to higher nighttime light, while industries do not appear to have a significant effect. Sanctions are shown to significantly reduce nighttime light overall, but the magnitude of the impact is highly divergent across regions. The damage of sanctions is greater in regions with large markets or near trade hubs. In contrast, regions near major wholesale markets appear to better cope with sanctions, although the aggregate effect of sanctions on the region is negative. In the final chapter, the channel of trade effect on regional economies is investigated for the period of recovery from the “Arduous March,” 2001–2016. Three hypotheses of export-led growth, import-led growth, and marketization channel are examined. Historical data from the Japanese colonial era are used as instrumental variables to manage the endogeneity problem of the market. The results indicate that resource export and growth of market in response to trade are the main channels through which sanctions affect regional economies. Conversely, input import does not affect regional economies through any industry. The findings imply that North Korea’s economic recovery from the Arduous March was mainly the result of resource export and market expansion.본 논문은 북한의 시군 단위 지역경제의 현황 및 결정요인을 분석한다. 자료의 부재로 북한의 지역경제 연구는 매우 미흡한 실정이었으나, 기존에 사용되지 않았던 위성 야간조도 및 지리정보라는 새로운 자료를 활용하여 시장, 무역, 산업, 대북경제 제재가 지역경제에 미치는 영향을 실증적으로 분석한다. 첫 번째 연구에서는 김정은 정권 하 북한의 시군 단위 1인당 GRDP를 추정하고 불평등 수준을 평가한다. 북한의 GDP를 도시인구 비중에 비례하여 각 지역별로 배분한 후, 이와 야간조도 간의 관계를 도출하여 1인당 GRDP 를 추정한다. 또한 이를 바탕으로 지니계수 및 일반화된 엔트로피 지수를 도출해 북한의 불평등 추세를 분석하고 불평등 분해를 실시한다. 분석 결과 북한의 1인당 GRDP에는 지역간 상당한 격차가 있었으며, 도 단위에서는 평양대비 56-71%의 수준을 보였다. 그러나 불평등 분해 결과 도 단위의 격차보다 동일 도 내 시·군 간 격차에 따른 불평등이 약 87%를 차지하여 시·군 단위의 지역경제 연구가 매우 중요한 것으로 나타냈다. 두 번째 연구에서는 시장, 무역, 산업을 중심으로 김정은 정권 하 북한 지역 경제 수준의 결정요인과 대북제재가 지역경제에 영향을 분석한다. 이를 위하여 2013-2019년 야간조도 수준을 지역별 경제 수준의 대리변수로 사용하며, 일 부 지역에서 야간조도 값이 관측되지 않는 좌측중도절단(Left censoring) 문제가 발생함에 따라 OLS와 함께 토빗 모형을 사용한다. 분석 결과 시장 규모와 무역 중심지 접근성이 북한 지역경제수준에 긍정적 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났으며, 산업변수의 영향력은 유의하게 나타나지 않았다. 한편, 대북제재는 북한의 지역 야간조도를 평균적으로 5.4% 감소시키며 특히 시장 활동이 활발하고 무역접근성이 높은 지역에 더 큰 피해를 입히는 것으로 나타났다. 한편, 제재 하에서 도매시장으로의 접근성이 높은 지역은 상대적으로 제재의 효과가 상쇄되는 것으로 나타났는데, 이는 제재 하에서 북한의 국내유통망이 상대적으로 중요해지고 한정된 자원이 도매시장으로 먼저 집중되기 때문인 것으로 해석된다. 세 번째 연구에서는 두 가지 종류의 야간조도 자료를 결합하여 2001-2016년 무역이 지역경제에 영향을 미치는 경로를 분석한다. 북한의 무역 자료는 연간 시계열만 존재하며 북한의 지역단위 변수들은 시간에 대해 불변하므로 무역변수와 지역변수 간의 교차항을 통하여 무역이 어떠한 경제적 특성을 가진 지역에서 더 큰 영향을 미치는지 분석함으로써 수출주도 성장, 수입주도 성장 및 시장화 촉진의 세 가지 가설을 검증한다. 이 때, 시장 변수에 내생성이 존재할 수 있으므로 일제강점기의 지역별 시장 및 기차역 개수를 시장의 도구변수로 사용하여 이를 해결한다. 분석 결과 수입주도 성장은 유효하지 않았으며, 수출의 경우 광업이 발달한 지역에 더 큰 긍정적 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 또한 수출과 수입 모두 시장의 규모가 큰 지역에 더 큰 긍정적 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타나 무역이 시장의 성장을 촉진하고, 시장이 지역경제를 성장시키는 긍정적 외부효과가 중요한 역할을 한 것으로 나타났다. 수출의 시장을 통한 영향은 시장 정책과 무관하였으나 수입의 경우 친시장 정책이 심화될수록 긍정적 외부효과가 강화되었다. 이상의 결과는 종합적으로 2000년대 이후 및 김정은 정권 하에서 북한 지역경제 성장의 주요 동력은 시장과 무역 및 그 둘 간의 상호작용임을 보여준다. 김정은 정권하는 물론 고난의 행군 이후 북한 경제의 회복기에도 지역별 시장 발전 수준 및 무역 참여도가 지역 경제수준에 큰 영향을 미쳤다. 또한 2017년 이후의 UN 안보리 대북제재가 북한경제에 부정적 영향을 미쳤으며, 특히 북한의 핵심 성장동력인 시장과 무역에 큰 피해를 입히므로 상당한 실효성을 가짐을 시사한다.Introduction 1 Chapter 1. Estimation of North Korean Regional GDP in 2012-2019 Using Nighttime Light Data 5 1. Introduction 5 2. Nighttime Light Data 8 2.1. Introduction 8 2.2. Features of Energy Use in North Korea 10 2.3. Nighttime Light and Welfare Level 13 3. Method and Data 18 3.1. Methodology 18 3.2. Data 21 4. Results 22 4.1. Estimation of GRDP per capita 22 4.2. Regional Disparity of North Korea 29 5. Conclusions 32 Chapter 2. Determinants of the North Korean Regional Economy and the Effect of Sanctions in the Kim Jong-un Era 34 1. Introduction 34 2. Data and Method 37 2.1. Data 37 2.2. Descriptive Statistics 43 2.3. Methodology 47 3. Results 49 3.1. The Determinants of Regional Economic Growth 49 3.2. The Effect of Sanctions 52 3.3. Transmission Channels of the Sanction Effects 54 3.4. Robustness Check 61 4. Conclusions 70 Chapter 3. The effect of trade on the North Korea Economy: Analysis of the Channel 72 1. Introduction 72 2. Method and Data 75 2.1. Hypothesis 75 2.2. Regression model 77 2.3. Data 79 3. Results 86 3.1. Export-Led Growth 86 3.2. Import-Led Growth 89 3.3. Marketization Channel 91 4. Conclusion 99 Concluding Remarks 100 Appendix 102 Reference 107 국문초록 114박

Using Multi-Source Data to Assess the Dynamics of Socioeconomic Development in Africa

Frequent and rapid spatially explicit assessment of socioeconomic development is critical for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at both national and global levels. In the past decades, scientists have proposed many methods for monitoring human activities on the Earth’s surface on various spatiotemporal scales using Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Line System (DMSP-OLS) nighttime lights (NTL) data. However, the DMSP-OLS NTL data and the associated processing methods have limited their reliability and applicability for systematic measuring and mapping of socioeconomic development. This research utilizes Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) NTL and the Isolation Forest (iForest) machine learning algorithm for more intelligent data processing to capture human activities. I use machine learning and NTL data to map gross domestic product (GDP) at 1 km2. I then use these data products to derive inequality indexes like GINI coefficients and 20:20 ratios at nationally aggregate levels. I have also conducted a case study based on agricultural production information to estimate subnational GDP in Uganda. This flexible approach processes the data in an unsupervised manner on various spatial scales. Assessments show that this method produces accurate sub-national GDP data for mapping and monitoring human development uniformly in Uganda and across the globe

Dynamic multi-dimensional scaling of 30+ year evolution of Chinese urban systems: patterns and performance

Understanding the co-evolution and organizational dynamics of urban properties (i.e., urban scaling) is the science base for pursuing synergies toward sustainable cities and society. The generalization of urban scaling theory yet requires more studies from various developmental regimes and across time. Here, we extend the universality proposition by exploring the evolution of longitudinal and transversal scaling of Chinese urban attributes between 1987 and 2018 using a global artificial impervious area (GAIA) remotely sensed dataset, harmonized night light data (NTL), and socioeconomic data, and revealed agreements and disagreements with theories. The superlinear relationship of urban area and population often considered as an indicator of wasting land resources (challenging the universality theory β  = 2/3), is in fact the powerful impetus (capital raising) behind the concurrent superlinear expansion of socio-economic metabolisms (e.g., GDP, total wage) in a rapidly urbanizing country that has not yet reached equilibrium. Similarly, infrastructural variables associated with public services, such as hospitals and educational institutions, exhibited some deviations as well and were scaled linearly. However, the temporal narrowing of spatial deviations, such as the decline in urban land diseconomies of scale and the stabilization of economic output, clearly indicates the Chinese government's effort in charting urban systems toward balanced and sustainable development across the country. More importantly, the transversal sublinear scaling of areal-based socio-economic variables was inconsistent with the theoretical concept of increasing returns to scale, thus validating the view that a single measurement cannot unravel the intricate web of diverse urban attributes and urbanization. Our dynamic urban scaling analysis across space and through time in China provides new insights into the evolving nexus of urbanization, socioeconomic development, and national policies

A global North-South division line for portraying urban development

Rapid urbanization has tremendously changed the global landscape with profound impacts on our society. Nighttime light (NTL) data can provide valuable information about human activities and socioeconomic conditions thus has become an effective proxy to measure urban development. By using NTL-derived urban measures from 1992 to 2018, we analyzed the spatiotemporal patterns of global urban development from country to region to city scales, which presented a distinct North-South divergence characterized by the rising and declining patterns. A global North-South division line was identified to partition the globe into the Line-North and the Line-South geographically, which accorded with the socioeconomic difference from the aspects of urban population and economy. This line may keep a certain degree of stability deriving from the trends of population and economic information but also bears uncertainties in the long term

Urbanization and sustainability under transitional economies:a synthesis for Asian Russia

Spanning a vast territory of approximately 13 million km ^2 , Asian Russia was home to 38 million people in 2016. In an effort to synthesize data and knowledge regarding urbanization and sustainable development in Asian Russia in the context of socioeconomic transformation following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1990, we quantified the spatiotemporal changes of urban dynamics using satellite imagery and explored the interrelationships between urbanization and sustainability. We then developed a sustainability index, complemented with structural equation modeling, for a comprehensive analysis of their dynamics. We chose six case cities, i.e., Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Omsk, Irkutsk, and Khabarovsk, as representatives of large cities to investigate whether large cities are in sync with the region in terms of population dynamics, urbanization, and sustainability. Our major findings include the following. First, Asian Russia experienced enhanced economic growth despite the declining population. Furthermore, our case cities showed a general positive trend for population dynamics and urbanization as all except Irkutsk experienced population increases and all expanded their urban built-up areas, ranging from 13% to 16% from 1990 to 2014. Second, Asian Russia and its three federal districts have improved their sustainability and levels of economic development, environmental conditions, and social development. Although both regional sustainability and economic development experienced a serious dip in the 1990s, environmental conditions and social development continuously improved from 1990 to 2014, with social development particularly improving after 1995. Third, in terms of the relationships between urbanization and sustainability, economic development appeared as an important driver of urbanization, social development, and environmental degradation in Asian Russia, with economic development having a stronger influence on urbanization than on social development or environmental degradation

中国における都市化総合評価及び環境への影響に関する研究

In Chapter one, research background and significance is investigated. In addition, previous studies and current situation in the research fields was reviewed and discussed. In Chapter two, an in-depth review of prior studies associated with the research topic was conducted. The literature review was carried out from three aspects: urbanization and eco-environment evalution and coordination, urban sprawl assessment and urban heat island investigation. In Chapter three, maximum entropy method was applied to help generate the evaluation system of eco-environment level and urbanization level at provincial scale. Comparison analysis and coordinate analysis was carried through to assess the development of urbanization and eco-environment as well as the balance and health degree of the city develops. In Chapter four, DMSP/OLS stable nighttime light dataset was used to measure and assess the urban dynamics from the extraction of built up area. Urban sprawl was evaluated by analyzing the landscape metrics which provided general understanding of the urban sprawl and distribution pattern characteristics could be got from the evaluation. In Chapter five, the investigation of surface urban heat island effects in Beijing city which derive from land surface temperature retrieval from remote sensing data of Landsat TM was carried out. In addition, spatial correlation and relationship between the urbanization level, vegetation coverage and surface urban heat island was carried out in this chapter. In Chapter six, all the works have been summarized and a conclusion of whole thesis is deduced.北九州市立大