Sensitivity analysis of discrete-time interregional population systems

Abstract

Abstract This paper shows analytically how (a) the long-run growth rate and (b) the long-run proportional distribution of an interregional population system with a time-homogeneous structural matrix are affected by small changes or errors in (a) the natural growth rates of individual regions and (b) the interregional migration rates. Furthermore, the analytic results are applied to an eight-region Canadian population system. Finally, it is claimed that the method introduced here can be easily applied to sensitivity analysis of both the intrinsic growth rate and the “stable” age-composition of the Leslie model with respect to changes in age-specific birth and survival rates.