Satellites Shed Light on Dictators’ Lies About Economic Growth
October 31, 2022
Authoritarian regimes are significantly overstating their GDP (gross domestic product) growth, according to new research that uses satellite images of countries at night as a proxy for economic activity. The report estimates that autocracies exaggerate yearly GDP growth by about 35% relative to democracies. Rosier picture The research starts from a central premise: that all leaders, whether in democracies or dictatorships, want to boast of a booming economy. “Everyone would always want to paint a rosier picture,” report author Luis Martinez of the University of Chicago told VOA. “The crucial difference is that in a democracy you have a whole