Typology formation across socio-economic indicators

Some decisions in planning and policy formation require the comparison of one region or country with another. If the entities being compared are known and have been demonstrated to be either similar or different, then valid comparisons can be made. Unfortunately, many comparisons are made on an ad hoc and often improper basis. The paper describes a method of typology formation which requires the modification and the use of the Euclidean distance measure calculated between countries over a series of social indicators. The potential usefulness of the method is demonstrated by reference to an example using indicators of educational system provision.