AcademicArticleSCO_84988653946

abstract

• © 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. In this paper, we develop a Bayesian Hierarchical Spatial Lag of X (SLX) spatial econometric model to examine the relationship between contextual factors associated with violence levels in Mexico over the period 2005¿2010, a period in which violence in the country reached record levels. We provide local spillover estimates of relevant covariates at both levels of the hierarchy, i.e., the municipal and state levels in Mexico. We also provide a methodology to compare relevant models regarding the proper specification of the spatial weight matrix in these models.