spMorph: An exploratory space-time analysis tool for describing processes of spatial redistribution

This paper introduces an exploratory space-time analysis tool for determining the two components of a spatial redistribution process: (i) the shock, which is the moment that triggers a spatial redistribution process; for example, a new policy, a war, an earthquake, etc.; and (ii) the duration of the regime fade, which is the time between the shock and the moment in which a new regime emerges as a better representation of the spatial distribution of the attribute. Two examples are provided: the first uses China's provincial per capitaGDP between 1978 and 2008, and the second uses state level housing price and unemployment rate data for the US between 2002 and 2012.