Empirical Models of Spatial Inter‐Dependence

摘要: This article discusses the role of ‘spatial interdependence’ between units of analysis by using a symmetric weighting matrix for the units of observation whose elements reflect the relative connectivity between unit i and unit j. It starts by addressing spatial interdependence in political science. There are two workhorse regression models in empirical spatial analysis: spatial lag and spatial error models. The article then addresses OLS estimation and specification testing under the null hypothesis of no spatial dependence. It turns to the topic of assessing spatial lag models, and a discussion of spatial error models. Moreover, it reports the calculation of spatial multipliers. Furthermore, it presents several newer applications of spatial techniques in empirical political science research: SAR models with multiple lags, SAR models for binary dependent variables, and spatio-temporal autoregressive (STAR) models for panel data.