Socio-economic development of Darjeeling Himalayas: Categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA) and ordinal logistic regression (OLR)

The measurement of regional development plays a crucial role in improving the quality of life of local communities. However, the process of analyzing the regional progress was challenging as regional development was presented as a multidimensional concept. Nonetheless, the study's primary objective was to understand the indicators that genuinely reflect the development process's various dimensions in the northernmost district of West Bengal, Darjeeling Himalayas. Seven dimensions of development, namely psychological well-being, health, education, governance, safety and crime, energy and environment and standard of living were identified for analyzing the socio-economic development of the Darjeeling Himalaya.Aquestionnaire was framed and circulated in the region for the collection of data. By applying Categorical Principal Component Analysis (CATPCA), the data collected was aggregated into the above mentioned seven dimensions of development and analyzed the relationship between these development indicators through the Ordinal Logistic Regression model (OLR). The results showed that education and governance indicators had a significant impact on psychological wellbeing. Governance was affected by psychological wellbeing, while the standard of living was affected by psychological wellbeing and health indicators in the region.