Spatial Population Economic Study:Pattern & Process

In essence, all of the population economic data can be understood as spatial data. However, population economics often avoid spatial attributes of population economic as the data and population economic as the discipline, consciously or unconsciously. In the paradigm of mainstream economics discipline, population economics has progressed considerably, but the spatial dimension of the population economics has not been elaborated systematically.Combing the history of economic thought and the empirical research topics on contemporary ppopulation economics, we found:Firstly, there exists spatial dimension in the history of economic thought, which is in the presence of debris explicitly or implicitly; Secondly, the spatial dimension is on the verge of position in the study of contemporary population economics’empirical research topics, which also imply its feature as a frontier disciplines. Therefore, both the disciplines foundation and empirical study of population economics prompted the necessity and possibility to build a "space population of economic research".On the basis, we try to built "Space Population Economics" discipline system from 5 aspects initially, as theoretical foundation of the discipline, conceptual framework, analytical paradigm (pattern and process), the technical basis and nature & significance of the discipline.The dissertation consists of nine chapters:In the 1st chapter, author introduces research background, the topic basis, purpose and meaning, content and chapter structure, research ideas and methods as well as innovations in papers.In the 2nd chapter, author combs concept of space in population economic from the perspective of the history of economic thought. Then, author summarized empirical research themes of contemporary population economics. Finally, the necessity and possibility from population economics to spatial population economics (spatial population studies) have been discussed.In the 3rd chapter, author builds the theoretical foundation in the study of spatial population economic, which includes two parts as spatial heterogeneity theory and man-land relationship theory.In the 4th chapter, author discusses the meta-concept in the spatial population economics conceptual framework.In the 5th chapter, conceptual framework of spatial population economics has been constructed primarily.In the 6th chapter, author presents analytical paradigm in spatial population economic research and summed up the basic techniques in spatial population economic study from various space technology.In the 7th Chapter, author takes the example of historical distribution of the Yi people in Yunnan Province to interpret population’s spatial economic distribution.In the 8th Chapter, author makes focus on the discussion of disciplinary nature and significance in the study of spatial population economic.In the 9th chapter, author looks to future trends in spatial population economic studies, points out the shortcomings in the dissertation and the topics for further research.