US media: night light shows that China's economy is better than official data

US economists on the nighttime lighting data of satellite imagery research shows that the Chinese economy is faster than the official data rate of the United States, the United States, the United States, the United States, the United States, increase.

 

In the Western public opinion, China's official economic data is not well known for its lack of accuracy, and is often considered to be deliberately exaggerated by local governments, especially fishermen. But three economists from the United States said the actual situation may be the opposite of the above statement, the official Chinese economic data released by the world's second largest economy, the real performance is somewhat underestimated.

 

The three economists are New York Federal Reserve Bank economists Hunter Clark and Maxime Pikovsky, and Columbia University professor of economics Xia Weier Sarah - Iraq - Martin. They co-authored the research paper and the so-called traditional view is very different. They are using an unusual "indicator" to measure the performance of the Chinese economy, that is, satellite record night light data.

 

These data related to nighttime lights are maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and are open to the public. Prior to this, there have been many studies have pointed out that the strength of the night lights and the economic activities of the region there is a very clear correspondence, for example, through them to show the economic gap between North Korea and South Korea, African villages and Asia Financial crisis during the region's economic fluctuations and other conditions. Researchers said that both the level of economic development or growth from the point of view, the night lights and the economic activities of the region there is a very close relationship.

 

After some analysis and calculations, the findings of the three economists show that the Chinese economy is doing well. "Our research shows that China's (GDP) growth rate was slower than the official forecast before the global financial crisis of 2008, and then slowed down in 2008 (more than official statistics) In 2009 and 2010 showed a stronger recovery than official statistics, and stabilized at a higher rate than official statistics after 2011.

 

While it is not possible to determine China's underestimation of the exact causes of its own economic performance, they say it may be related to China's underestimation of the growth of its services, and as the Chinese economy grows, services will play an increasingly important role. At present, the study also belongs to the scope of working papers, has not yet been peer review.

 

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