ABSTRACT
Marginality in regional development is a condition of spatial structure and process in which certain spatial components of a territory are observed to lag behind an expected level of performance in economic well-being compared with the average condition in the territory as a whole. The distinction between macrogeographic and microgeographic marginality is based on the scale and dimension of analysis. Michigan has long been characterized by major north/south dichotomies in the macrospatial patterns of its economic development. Regional development patterns in Michigan evoke a number of research questions. Intraregional disparities in incomes are highest in the southeast, of medium magnitude in the mid to upper portions of the Lower Peninsula and very low in the Upper Peninsula. Regional data are aggregated from county or Minor Civil Divisions tables. Income data are not deflated as it is assumed that the cost-of-living index is the same throughout Michigan.
