Exploratory and explanatory statistical analysis of spatial data

In September 1977 a "Regional Science Symposium" was held at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Goningen in the Netherlands. The impetus in organizing this symposium was the recent estab­ lishmen t at the F acuIty of Economics of a group engaged in teaching and research within the field of regional science. The aim of the symposium was to familiarize university members with regional science and to introduce the new group to both the national and international scene. Two separate topics of potential interest to both researchers and policy-makers were selected. The first theme, spatial inequalities and regional development, was chosen because of its central place in regional science. Authors from several disciplines were asked to approach this theme from a general, policy-oriented point of view. This ensured the spotlighting of the various dimensions of spatial inequality and its implications for regional policy. The results of their efforts have been collected in a volume entitled Spatial Inequalities and Regional Development. The second theme focussed on spatial statistical analysis. This branch of statistics is a relatively new one. It is receiving growing attention from researchers in the field of applied regional science. The conference dealing with this topic concentrated on recent research results related to the use of appropriate statistical and econometric methods for analyzing spatial data. The papers con­ cerned have been collected in another volume, entitled Exploratory and Explanatory Statistical Analysis of Spatial Data.