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Spatial density in economic studies – how and what for to include it?
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Abstract:
Spatial density is the intensity of a phenomenon in a given area. The concentration of people and firms is important for most socio-economic processes. This seminar will briefly present a collection of related studies: how to measure spatial density; which data is useful for this area of research; and how to incorporate it into theoretical and empirical economic (spatial and regional) studies. It is an overview of research by Spatial Warsaw research group. In particular, it will refer to the following works:
- Book on Modelling Spatial Density (Kopczewska, 2025a);
- Paper on population density as an attractor of business (Kopczewska et al., 2024);
- Paper on the QDC (Quick Density Clustering) algorithm as a measure of local density (Kopczewska, 2025b);
- Paper on the relationship between population density changes and urban greening (Kopczewska, 2025c);
- Working paper on the U-shaped relationship between population density and patenting activity (Kopczewska, forthcoming).
The seminar will be of interest to all economists, including those who work with quantitative methods, empirical studies and R coding, as well as those who focus on theoretical contributions or policy implications.
- Kopczewska, K. (2025a). Modelling Spatial Density: Data, Methods, and R Applications in Statistics, Econometrics, and Machine Learning. Oxford University Press.
- Kopczewska, K., Kubara, M., & Kopyt, M. (2024). Population density as the attractor of business to the place. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 22234.
- Kopczewska, K. (2025b). Analysing local spatial density of human activity with quick density clustering (QDC) algorithm. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 119, 102289.
- Kopczewska, K. (2025c). The role of urban greening in limiting land take in case of population growth: Evidence for Europe 2005–2018. Land Use Policy, 158, 107726.
Bio:
Kathy Kopczewska is a full professor of economics at the University of Warsaw in Poland, where she coordinates the work of the 'Spatial Warsaw' research group. She develops methods for spatial studies and applies them to issues such as real estate, business location, innovation activity and environmental changes. She is involved with the scientific network 'European Regional Science Association' (ERSA). She is an associate editor of the ‘Spatial Economic Analysis’ and ‘Networks and Spatial Economics’ journals. She is currently working with a team on a book on 'Spatial Machine Learning in R' (Routledge, 2027), which will follow the book 'Applied Spatial Statistics and Econometrics' (Routledge, 2nd edition, 2026 – now in production).