Synonyms
Definition
When an analyst employs spatially disaggregated data (data for units of area) and certain aspects of homogeneity or cohesion 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 (spatial) 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 and Moore 1938; Plaut et al. 2002). Isard (1956: 17) emphasized that: “the region has its own ‘essence’ which can be grasped in full only by tools, hypotheses, models and data processing techniques specifically designed for regional analysis.” For these reasons, when analysts do not explicitly account for the specific characteristics and locations of...
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Ortega, B. (2022). Regional Analysis. In: Maggino, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_2443-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_2443-2
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