This paper introduces Information Theoretic - based methods for estimating a target variable in a set of small geographical areas, by exploring spatially heterogeneous relationships at the disaggregate level. Controlling for spatial effects means introducing models whereby the assumption is that...

Researchers have repeatedly noted that the results in spatial-econometric studies depend significantly on the level of regional aggregation (Jacobs-Crisioni et al., 2014; Kang et al., 2014, Baltagi, Li, 2014). Currently, hierarchical models can contribute a lot to the studies of spatial effects...