Incorporation of spatial relationships in the construction of taxonomy measure of development is gaining popularity in Polish literature. However, there is no one common idea concerning how the spatial relationship should be taken into account when creating a synthetic variable nor, indeed, where the spatial weight matrix should be placed. It seems that the inclusion of spatial relationships is more important in smaller regions’...

The main goal of this paper is to analyse the existence of the social convergence in the European Union between 19952012. The social convergence refers to a reduction in the dispersion of the standard of living across countries. A taxonomic spatial measure of development was used as the standard of living approximation. The use of the new approach proposed by E. Antczak allowed for an explanation of the disparities in the analysed...

The standard of living is spatially diversified and its analyzes enable shaping regional policy. Therefore, it is crucial to assess the standard of living and to classify regions due to their standard of living, based on a wide set of determinants. The most common research methods are those based on composite indicators, however, they are not ideal. Among the current critiques moved to the use of composite...

Geographical proximity, common historical roots and collaboration within the Nordic Council make the Nordic countries, often wrongly treated as monoliths. However, in reality, Nordic regions differ in terms of broadly defined social and economic development. Issues concerning the standard of living are one of the priorities of the Helsinki Treaty signed by Nordic countries. The main goal of this paper is to analyze the existence...