Adam Storeygard

Adam Storeygard image

Graduate Student
Department of Economics
Brown University
Email: adam_storeygard (at) brown.edu

CV
Research (below)
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Research

Measuring Economic Growth from Outer Space
(with Vernon Henderson and David N. Weil)
Abstract:
GDP growth is often measured poorly for countries and rarely measured at all for cities. We propose a readily available proxy: satellite data on lights at night. Our statistical framework uses light growth to supplement existing income growth measures. The framework is applied to countries with the lowest quality income data, resulting in estimates of growth that differ substantially from established estimates. We then consider a longstanding debate: do increases in local agricultural productivity increase city incomes? For African cities, we find that exogenous agricultural productivity shocks (high rainfall years) have substantial effects on local urban economic activity.
Media coverage:
    Broadcast: Reuters Video, Bloomberg Television
    Print: The Economist, New Scientist, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung [Germany], Les Echos [France], Tages-Anzeiger [Switzerland], Clarin iEco [Argentina], The American, Seed Magazine
    Blogs: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Times [South Africa]