The analysis of spatial association by use of distance statistics

Abstract

Introduced in this paper is a family of statistics, G, that can be used as a measure of spatial association in a number of circumstances. The basic statistic is derived, its properties are identified, and its advantages explained. Several of the G statistics make it possible to evaluate the spatial association of a variable within a specified distance of a single point. A comparison is made between a general G statistic andMoran’s I for similar hypothetical and empirical conditions. The empiricalwork includes studies of sudden infant death syndrome by county in North Carolina and dwelling unit prices in metropolitan San Diego by zip-code districts. Results indicate that G statistics should be used in conjunction with I in order to identify characteristics of patterns not revealed by the I statistic alone and, specifically, the Gi and G∗ i statistics enable us to detect local “pockets” of dependence that may not show up when using global statistics.