Selection of the set of areal units for economic regional research on the land use: a proposal for Aggregation Problem solution

Abstract

The knowledge of the spatial development of phenomena is crucial in the case of research in economics, geological survey, mining, earth resources and geography. In the literature one can diagnose an important methodological and implementation gap concerning the selection of the set of areal units within the Aggregation Problem. The issue relates to determining boundaries of areal units (regions), whose properties are described by spatial data. The boundaries of areas should be established in such a way that a given analyzed phenomenon is influenced by the same main causes. Only in this case, the analyzed spatial data will properly reflect the impact of main causes, the properties of phenomena and dependencies between them. This means that determining the proper boundaries of areas is a necessary condition for receiving correct conclusions (e.g. delimiting metropolitan areas, assessing mineral resource potential and deposits, or assessing the dynamics of surface processes). From this perspective, the main objective of the article is presenting the proposal for solving the Aggregation Problem, where as the case study the economic analysis of agrarian resources and structure is used. The solution to the problem will lead to establishing the system of macroregions, where the obtained proposal of a system of four sets of areal units is important from the point of view of spatial research. The main added value of the research and its specific contribution to the literature is based on the fact that the proposed solution to the Aggregation Problem can be considered as universal, which is not limited to selected scientific disciplines. The methodology presented in the article can be effectively applied to other spatial research in the field of geology and mining, where the most appropriate research field is the issue of locating areas with appropriate properties or areas which are affected by given analised phenomena.