AN EMPIRICAL-EVALUATION OF THE AGGREGATED SPATIAL CHOICE MODEL

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the performance and capabi lities of the aggregated spatial choice model with empirical data. The application is to a problem of Canadian interregional migration in th e 1990-91 time period. The strength of the aggregated model is its abi lity to capture the role of elemental processes in defining the attrac tiveness of aggregate spatial units without knowledge of elemental cho ices. The theory of the aggregated model has been discussed in the dis crete choice literature. Applications of the model, however, have been very limited in number, while the model in its complete form has neve r been applied. The application intends to demonstrate the use of the model in the spatial context. The idea that the spatial resolutions of attribute and choice data do not need to be identical can address the aggregation difficulties often inherent in spatial choice problems.