International Journal of Geo-Information Article Spatial Variations in Fertility of South Korea: A Geographically Weighted Regression Approach Myunggu Jung 1 , Woorim Ko 2, Yeohee Choi 3 and Youngtae Cho 2,* 1 Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK;
[email protected] 2 Department of Public Health Science, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea;
[email protected] 3 Department of Social Welfare, Graduate School of Social Welfare, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Korea;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +82-2-880-2820 Received: 5 May 2019; Accepted: 4 June 2019; Published: 5 June 2019 Abstract: South Korea has witnessed a remarkable decline in birth rates in the last few decades. Although there has been a large volume of literature exploring the determinants of low fertility in South Korea, studies on spatial variations in fertility are scarce. This study compares the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) models to investigate the potential role of the spatially heterogeneous response of the total fertility rate (TFR) to sociodemographic factors. The study finds that the relationships between sociodemographic factors and TFRs in South Korea vary across 252 sub-administrative areas in terms of both magnitude and direction. This study therefore demonstrates the value of using spatial analysis for providing evidence-based local-population policy options in pursuit of a fertility rebound in South Korea. Keywords: low fertility; spatial analysis; GIS; regional fertility differentials; total fertility rate 1. Introduction In the last few decades, South Korea has witnessed a remarkable decline in birth rates.