Bücher der Reihe Contributions to Regional Science

This book offers readers a spatial understanding of happiness and subjective well-being. By integrating spatial and geostatistical methods, it sheds new light on the spatial and geographical aspects of subjective well-being. Geographical analysis allows us to measure spatial and regional discrepancies in subjective well-being and to identify heterogeneous profiles in terms of social, economic and environmental patterns. Consequently, the papers gathered here address various topics concerning the spatial aspects of subjective well-being, including social injustice, age, new urban spaces, and tourism. The book proposes a multidisciplinary approach and is intended for scholars and students in the fields of geography, economics and the spatial sciences. By examining several critical dimensions of happiness and subjective well-being, it enriches the complexity of regional decision-making on the path toward happier and more liveable societies.

This book explores the role of the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) as drivers of local economic development. More specifically, it builds on two novel perspectives in order to interpret the phenomenon. First, despite the general recognition that CCIs are innovative economic actors, their creative output is heterogeneous, as CCIs consist of extremely diverse industries, and the concept of innovation differs from sector to sector. Second, CCIs¿ creativity is locally rooted, as the context provides innovative inputs for the development of creative ideas, binding creativity with well-established theories of the regional innovation literature. The book explores these new perspectives through a novel database on CCIs¿ innovation at a fine industrial and regional scale.Building on these two ideas, the book is subdivided into three parts. In the first, a novel definition of creativity in CCIs is developed in which its heterogeneity and place-based nature are at the core. In turn, the second part addresses the phenomenon of localization choices in CCIs, highlighting their heterogeneous innovativeness and the filière which they belong to as key dimensions for the analysis. In the third part, the impact of CCIs on economic growth is explored. This book offers new evidence on the conditions under which CCIs cluster in space and stimulate development. It appeals to scholars in regional science, cultural economics and related fields, as well as policymakers and practitioners working in the cultural and creative industries.

The book explores the uneven spatial distribution of territory resources and its implication for the sustainable development of regions and cities. The authors analyze the features of the localization of assets, paying attention to both the manifested factors and the conditions that determine the specificity of the current spatial organization. On the basis of multivariate analysis, gravity models, clustering method, as well as the evaluation of concentration parameters, the authors propose various approaches to systematize territorial units, paying special attention to the peculiarities of their economic structure, resource diffusion barriers, and quality of life parameters. The obtained results indicate the need for a differentiated approach in the choice of guidelines for the transformation of the socio-economic space, allowing the researchers to propose various transformation models for differing regions. Thus, this book presents spatial organization models for different regional economies, highlighting various approaches to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and reducing inequality.The book seeks to balance the benefits of polarized development with the need to avoid significant interregional disparities. At the same time, the book offers various solutions for differentiating territories, distinguishing different spatial elements, and determining the most appropriate transformation options. The results obtained may be of interest to scholars in regional and spatial science as well as to professionals in the field of territorial development management.