Regionalization Heuristic to Map Spatial Heterogeneity of Macroeconomic Impacts: The Case of the Green Energy Transition in NRW

Abstract

We discuss a vector-based regionalization heuristic to map the spatial variation of macroeconomic effects. Empirical regional studies of energy markets are often unfeasible due to a lack of data, particularly on demand and distribution infrastructure. The proposed heuristic is useful to model effects with high spatial heterogeneity and small overall net impact. As an illustration without loss of generality, we apply the heuristic to results from an input-output analysis on value creation effects by the energy transition in manufacturing sectors in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The heuristic is applicable for regionalizing other macroresults, for example, from survey and other energy modeling studies.