A Moran coefficient-based mixed effects approach to investigate spatially varying relationships

Abstract: This study develops a spatially varying coefficient model by extending the random effects eigenvector spatial filtering model. The developed model has the following properties: its coefficients are interpretable in terms of the Moran coefficient; each of its coefficients can have a different degree of spatial smoothness; and it yields a variant of a Bayesian spatially varying coefficient model. Also, parameter estimation of the model can be executed with a relatively small computationally burden. Results of a Monte Carlo simulation reveal that our model outperforms a conventional eigenvector spatial filtering (ESF) model and geographically weighted regression (GWR) models in terms of the accuracy of the coefficient estimates and computational time. We empirically apply our model to the hedonic land price analysis of flood risk in Japan.