The Impact of Space on the Application Of Discrete Choice Models

Kingsley E. Haynes and Stewart Fotheringham
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Kingsley E. Haynes: George Mason University
Stewart Fotheringham: State University of New York at Buffalo

The Review of Regional Studies, 1990, vol. 20, issue 2, 39-49

Abstract: In spatial analysis, the 1980's could be characterized as the decade of discrete choice modeling and, more generally, categorized data analysis. Subsequent to the pioneering work undertaken in economics, marketing and transportation, it was quickly recognized that most spatial decisions are discrete (for example, the selection of a city in which to live or a store at which to shop) and the discrete choice framework was adopted enthusiastically. One of the most popular statistical models for the analysis of discrete choices has been the multinomial logit model (MNL). In this paper we describe the added complexities space introduces into Discrete Choice Modeling and then discuss how they can be incorporated into the framework to produce more realistic spatial choice models. Our discussion is centered around the MNL model, because of its popularity, and on the role of the Independence from Irrelevant Alternatives (IIA) assumption which is shown to be a key factor in highlighting the differences between aspatial and spatial choice. We also demonstrate that in certain models where IIA is relaxed the subtleties of space are not captured sufficiently and that these subtleties can only be captured by developing models from spatial theory. Some promising beginnings in this direction are reported.

Date: 1990
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