The Night Light Development Index (NLDI): a spatially explicit measure of human development from satellite data

摘要

We have developed a satellite data derived ''Night Light Development Index''(NLDI) as a simple, objective, spatially explicit and globally availableempirical measurement of human development derived solely from nighttimesatellite imagery and population density. There is increasing recognitionthat the distribution of wealth and income amongst the population in anation or region correlates strongly with both the overall happiness of thatpopulation and the environmental quality of that nation or region. Measuringthe distribution of wealth and income at national and regional scales is aninteresting and challenging problem. Gini coefficients derived from Lorenzcurves are a well-established method of measuring income distribution.Nonetheless, there are many shortcomings of the Gini coefficient as ameasure of income or wealth distribution. Gini coefficients are typicallycalculated using national level data on the distribution of income throughthe population. Such data are not available for many countries and theresults are generally limited to single values representing entirecountries. In this paper we develop an index for the co-distribution ofnocturnal light and people that is derived without the use of monetarymeasures of wealth and is capable of providing a spatial depiction ofdifferences in development within countries.