From the abstract at the Geographically based Economic data (G-Econ) website:
“The G-Econ data set calculates gross value added at a 1-degree longitude by 1-degree latitude resolution at a global scale for all terrestrial cells. These data allow better integration of economic and environmental data to investigate environmental economics, the impact of global warming, and the role of geophysical factors in economic activity. On of the major results is to show that the true economic deserts of the globe are in Greenland, Antarctica, northern Canada, Alaska, and Siberia.”
Downloadable spreadsheet data includes not just economic data, but also environmental data:
- Precipitation (monthly)
- Temperature (monthly)
– Terrain
- Elevation
- Roughness
- Standard deviation of elevation
– Vegetation
– Soil Types
Convert the spreadsheet data to shapefile format, or plot it directly in Google Earth using GE-Graph.
The site also has rotating globe animations with data plotted:
