Remote sensing data has the potential to revolutionize social science. One of the most prominent examples of this is the Nighttime Lights dataset, which provides digital measures of nighttime luminosity from 1992 to 2013. This study evaluates the Nighttime Lights data against detailed rural electrification data from the 2011 Census of India. The results suggest that many nighttime luminosity measures derived from satellite data are surprisingly accurate for measuring rural electrification, even at the village level and using simple statistical tools. We also demonstrate that this accuracy can be substantially improved by using of better GIS maps, basic geoprocessing tools, and particular aggregations of nighttime luminosity. Nighttime luminosity performs worse in measuring financial inclusion or proxies of poverty, however, and detects rural electrification less accurately when the supply of power is intermittent. These results offer guidelines for when and how remote sensing data can be used when administrative data is absent or unreliable. Summary: The promise and limitations of satellite measures of nighttime lights are demonstrated and methods of improvement are illustrated.

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SUMMARY In the least developed countries, unequal access to infrastructure is a major form of inequality. We examine the conditions under which unequal electricity access causes dissatisfaction. The question is important because grievances could prompt demands for policy change. We argue that feelings of relative deprivation both cause dissatisfaction and create hope for improvement. Empirically, we analyze household survey data from five East African countries. All else constant, households living close to a power line are less satisfied with their lighting solution but also have more hope for improvement. Because household lighting is the most important use for electricity in a poor household, this supports the relative deprivation hypothesis. Households that are reminded of their deprivation by the power line are both less satisfied and believe something can be done to solve the problem. To inform policy, we also show that the proximity of a power line decreases the household's interest in solar home systems as an alternative to grid electrification, whereas valuation for solar lanterns seems to be increasing. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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