Shedding light on consumer sentiments: evidence from India

Debasis Rooj, Anurag Banerjee, Reshmi Sengupta and Prasad Pathak

Spatial Economic Analysis, 2025, vol. 20, issue 1, 128-146

Abstract: This paper shows how location-based indicators can predict consumer confidence in India. We capture local economic activity using city-wise night-time luminosity (NTL) data. Using data on unit-level observations on consumer confidence from the Consumer Confidence Survey by the Reserve Bank of India from June 2016 to November 2021, we find that NTL is positively associated with consumer sentiments. Our results are robust to alternative definitions of consumer sentiments. Finally, we extend our study to analyse the role of NTL on several individual components of household sentiments, such as household perception and outlook on household income, spending, employment and general price levels. Overall, our results provide fascinating insights about using NTL as a measure of local economic indicators and its implications on households’ sentiment indicators.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/17421772.2024.2333412

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