An interesting piece by Harvard economist SENDHIL
MULLAINATHAN:
“Satellite photos provide a level of
geographic specificity that national accounts do not. Another set of
researchers used visual algorithms (related to those that recognize your face
on Facebook or help navigate cars) to analyze these images pixel by pixel.
Through this process, they could quantify poverty in each square kilometer of
Uganda.
Satellite photos provide other useful
information. In rural areas, we can see crops in the ground, allowing us to
estimate harvest size — even before the actual harvest. This data gives us a
direct window into an essential part of the economic lives of many of the
world’s rural poor. The information can be used to build early warning systems
for crop failure, to create crop insurance or target other forms of assistance.”