ACCOUNTING FOR NEIGHBORING EFFECTS IN MEASURES OF SPATIAL CONCENTRATION

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2011

Authors

Paulo Guimaraes (Author) FEP; Octávio Figueiredo (Author) FEP; Douglas Woodward (Author) FEP

Journal

Title: Journal of Regional Science

Vol. 51 No. 4

Pages: 678-693

ISSN: 0022-4146

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 28 Citations

ISI Web of Science

Scopus - 37 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Social sciences > Other social sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-002-KZ8

DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9787.2011.00723.x

Abstract (EN): A common problem with spatial economic concentration measures based on areal data (e. g., Gini, Herfindhal, entropy, and Ellison-Glaeser indices) is accounting for the position of regions in space. While they purport to measure spatial clustering, these statistics are confined to calculations within individual areal units. They are insensitive to the proximity of regions or to neighboring effects. Clearly, since spillovers do not recognize areal units, economic clusters may cross regional boundaries. Yet with current measures, any industrial agglomeration that traverses boundaries will be chopped into two or more pieces. Activity in adjacent spatial units is treated in exactly the same way as activity in far-flung, nonadjacent areas. This paper shows how popular measures of spatial concentration relying on areal data can be modified to account for neighboring effects. With a U. S. application, we also demonstrate that the new instruments we propose are easy to implement and can be valuable in regional analysis.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 16