Spatial Demography: An Opportunity to Improve Policy Making at Diverse Decision Levels

Marcia C. Castro, University of South Carolina

This article compiles the work previously done on demography incorporating spatial models and has 5 goals. First, it highlights areas that have recently incorporated space in the analysis, and those that still lack applications. Second, it indicates the additional gain introduced by spatial techniques in demographic analysis, and different questions that demographers may answer through the use of these techniques. Third, it discusses the prospects for Spatial Demography to become established as a sub-field, given the current training (or lack of training) provided by population centers, data availability, and the willingness of donor institutions to fund spatial applications in the social sciences. Fourth, it provides a comprehensive description of the potential use of spatial analysis in demography, and the most important techniques that demographers should be aware of. Finally, it demonstrates that policy making is likely to improve and become more cost-effective if a spatial approach is adopted.