On the use of satellite-based vehicle flows data to assess local economic activity: the case of Philippine cities

Satellite image-derived vehicle counts were used to measure local economic activity following the opening of the new terminal at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport in the Philippines. Results reveal that the terminal's opening has had positive impacts on Cebu’s local economy. A comparison of the vehicle count measure with luminosity-derived metrics suggests that the former is better at capturing seasonal and spatial variations in treatment effects, especially for beach tourism activities in Cebu.