Satellite images of nighttime lights are commonly used to proxy local economic conditions. Despite their popularity, there are concerns about how accurately they capture local development in different settings and scales. We compile an annual series of comparable nighttime lights globally from 1992 to 2023 by applying adjustments that consider key factors affecting accuracy and comparability over time: top coding, blooming, and variations in satellite systems (DMSP and VIIRS). Applied to various low-income settings, the adjusted luminosity series outperforms the unadjusted series as a predictor of local development, particularly over time and at higher spatial resolutions.

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12 January 2026

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The Economic Journal 2026

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DOI: 10.1093/ej/ueaf134

https://academic.oup.com/ej/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ej/ueaf134/8422527?guestAccessKey=

This Journal article is published under the centre's Urban programme.