Night lights and the pursuit of subnational GDP: Application to Kenya & Rwanda

Estimating national-level growth levels and rates is fraught with challenges. Doing so at subnational levels even more so – because of data challenges, and difficulties in attributing economic activity to a specific subnational unit. However, as countries decentralize, estimating subnational economic activity and growth is becoming all the more relevant for at least three reasons: First, there is strong policy interest in seeing how growth can occur in different parts of countries, so that communities can share in national prosperity and not get left behind.