AI 中文总结
本研究针对英格兰社会经济数据的复杂空间模式，提出基于离散小波变换的多分辨率方法，通过空间结构不相似度度量识别相似区域，挑战传统分类作为局部地理替代指标的有效性，为政策评估提供框架。
AI 中文摘要
英格兰的社会经济指标呈现出复杂的空间模式，而基于平均值或宽泛地理分类的标准方法无法很好地捕捉这些模式。我们提出一种基于区域内部空间结构的区域比较方法，该方法采用由离散小波变换得到的多分辨率表示。该方法将Areal数据嵌入规则网格，提取局部窗口，并将每个局部窗口表示为一组特定尺度和方向的细节系数。在这些系数上定义了一个不相似度度量，该度量会在旋转和反射操作下最小化，用于识别具有相似空间结构的统计单元的连续集合。我们将该方法应用于英格兰2025年多重剥夺指数的下层超级输出区域层面。研究表明，具有相似内部结构的区域常跨区域、城市化水平和平均剥夺程度分布，这对将这些类别作为局部地理的替代指标的做法提出了挑战。该结果提供了一个框架，可基于剥夺在区域内的分布方式识别可比地点，对政策评估和可迁移性具有重要意义。
英文摘要
Socioeconomic indicators in England exhibit complex spatial patterns that are not well captured by standard approaches based on averages or broad geographic classifications. We propose a method for comparing areas based on their internal spatial structure, using a multiresolution representation derived from the discrete wavelet transform. The method embeds areal data into a regular grid, extracts local windows, and represents each as a set of scale- and direction-specific detail coefficients. A dissimilarity measure, defined over these coefficients and minimised over rotations and reflections, is used to identify contiguous sets of statistical units with similar spatial structure. We apply the approach to England's 2025 Index of Multiple Deprivation at the lower layer super output area level. We show that areas with similar internal structure are often found across regions, levels of urbanisation, and average deprivation, challenging the use of these categories as proxies for local geography. The results provide a framework for identifying comparable places based on how deprivation is distributed within them, with implications for policy evaluation and transferability.
Comments9 figures, 19 pages. Submitted to the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A
