Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research

2014 Edition
| Editors: Alex C. Michalos

Regional Analysis

Reference work entry
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_2443
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Definition

When an analyst employs spatially disaggregated data (data for units of area) and certain aspects of homogeneity or cohesion, from the perspective of the dimensions of well-being under study, are attributed to these spatial units, these areas are being converted into regions. As a result, the analyst is engaging, by definition, in regional analysis (Isard, 1956).

Description

Well-being has a regional dimension. This is not only due to the spatial nature of data that may be used in empirical research: regions are defined by particular environmental and socioeconomic factors which are also influenced by the spatial dimension of culture and  institutions (Odum & Moore, 1938; Plaut, Markus, & Lachman, 2002). In applied research, this means that once the dimensions of well-being have been identified, analysts have to choose the suitable spatial unit of observation and, where appropriate, draw policy-consistent or analytically meaningful territory boundaries.

However, the question...

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References

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Departamento de Economía Aplicada (Estructura Económica)Universidad de MálagaMálagaSpain