Abstract: GDP growth is often measured poorly for countries and rarely measured at all for cities or subnational regions. We propose a readily available proxy: satellite data on lights at night. We develop a statistical framework that uses lights growth to augment existing income growth measures, under the assumption that measurement error in using observed light as an indicator of income is uncorrelated with measurement error in national income accounts. For countries with good national income accounts data, information on growth of lights is of marginal value in estimating the true growth rate of income, while for countries with the worst national income accounts, the optimal estimate of true income growth is a composite with roughly equal weights. Among poor-data countries, our new estimate of average annual growth differs by as much as 3 percentage points from official data. Lights data also allow for measurement of income growth in sub- and supranational regions. As an application, we examine growth in Sub Saharan African regions over the last 17 years. We find that real incomes in non-coastal areas have grown faster by 1/3 of an annual percentage point than coastal areas; non-malarial areas have grown faster than malarial ones by 1/3 to 2/3 annual percent points; and primate city regions have grown no faster than hinterland areas. Such applications point toward a research program in which “empirical growth” need no longer be synonymous with “national income accounts.”

Abstract: Payback estimates of energy efficiency investments often ignore public health externalities. This is problematic in cases where spillover health effects are substantial, such as when the application of new technology alters environmental exposures. When health externalities are included in return on investment calculations, energy efficiency programs may look more or less attractive than suggested by conventional “energy savings only” estimates. This analysis exploits the quasi-experiment provided by the 2009 Los Angeles (LA) LED streetlight efficiency program to investigate the returns on investments inclusive of an originally estimated health externality. Using the synthetic control method, we find that the LED streetlight program is associated with a lagged increase in breast cancer mortality of 0.479 per 100,000. Inclusive of the effects of LEDs on breast cancer and avoided carbon emissions, the LA LED program provides a −146.2% 10-year return compared to +118.2% when health outcomes and carbon emissions are ignored.

Abstract: Some of the key characteristics of environmentally compatible. tourism are the minimisation of negative impacts on the environment and the preservation of the ecological capacity. “Dark Sky Parks” are one of the important measures to support nature tourism in large protection areas. Using the example of the Nature Park “Nossentiner/Schwinzer Heide” the paper introduces a concept of 'astrotourism': measurements of the brightness (magnitude) of the nocturnal sky, selection of suitable sites for astronomic observations, development of a lighting plan which mainly aims to define rules and guidelines for the outdoor lighting, and measures to protect the nocturnal sky and reduce the light pollution in the future Dark Sky Park. The region of the Nature Park Nossentiner/Schwinzer Heide is characterised by a minor light pollution, due to a low settlement density and its large, coherent forest areas. This fact contributes to the protection of nocturnal species and it can be used for the future tourism concept in the protection area. The presented concept to develop nature tourism shows a reaction on one of the fastest environmental changes: the decreasing intensity of natural darkness due to artificial light sources.