Defining and Measuring Tight and Loose Cultures Across NUTS-2 Regions: The Regional Index of Looseness

Abstract This study introduces the Regional Index of Looseness (RIL), a novel measure of cultural tightness-looseness computed at the NUTS-2 regional level for European countries. We distinguish between horizontal and vertical looseness, grounded respectively in interpersonal norm flexibility and attitudes toward supraordinate authority, and construct the index using dispersion in ordinal responses with data from the European Values Study. Methodologically, we employ an index of ordinal variation that avoids the limitations of the standard deviation when applied to Likert-type scales. We validate the RIL by comparing it with existing national-level tightness-looseness measures and by examining its association with other cultural constructs. Finally, we propose two exploratory applications (vaccination attitudes and compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions during COVID-19) to illustrate how regional looseness correlates with public health behaviors. The results highlight substantial within-country heterogeneity and demonstrate the usefulness of regional cultural measures for understanding behavioral responses to collective risks.