That the choice of spatial frame may have a significant impact on the results of statistical analyses of areally aggregated data is widely recognised in principle, but generally ignored in practice. Data relating to New Zealand are employed to investigate the effects of using alternative frames on factor analytic dimensions of regional social well-being and also the extent to which hypothesised causal influences of levels of well-being are frame specific. The implications of the findings for regional development policy and theory construction are briefly discussed.
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