A Passage to Spatial Econometrics (Theory & Applications)
By Anil K. Bera, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
Prologue
April 1242
Baghdad, Iraq
Baghdad took no note of the arrival of Shams (Sun) of Tabriz, a wondering Sufi
Saint,
from Samarkand to the city’s famous Dervish Lodge. Shams told the
master of the lodge, Baba Zaman, that he wanted to share his accumulated
knowledge to the most competent student. Why? Because, Shams said,
“Knowledge is like brackish water at the bottom of an old vase unless it
flows somewhere.” Baba Zaman got serious and asked a bizarre question:“
You say you are ready to deliver all your knowledge to another person.
You want to hold the Truth in your palm as if it were a precious pearl
and offer it to someone special. That is no small task for a human
being. Are not you asking too much! What are you willing to pay in
return?” Raising an eyebrow, Shams of Tabriz said firmly, “I am willing
to give my head.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Topic 1. History of Spatial Analysis (4 hours)
1.1. Spatial Analysis in Time of Cholera: Work of Dr. John Snow (1854)
1.2. Design of Experiments and Sample Survey: Work of Fisher and Mahalanobis (1920-1950).
1.3. First Formal Paper on Spatial Analysis: PAP Moran (1948)
Topic 2. Theory of Spatial Analysis (6 hours)
2.1. Why (Spatial) Dependence Matter?
2.2. Contrast between Time-Series and Spatial Dependence
2.3. Different Spatial Models
2.4. Estimation of Spatial Models
Topic 3. Testing Spatial Models (9 hours)
3.1. General Theory of Testing (LR, W and RS/LM)
3.2. Testing Misspecified Models
3.3. Specification Tests for Spatial Models
3.4. Spatial Panel Models
Topic 4. Applications of Spatial Analysis (Using Data from USA, China and Other Countries) (6 hours)
4.1. Applications of Spatial Analysis to Crime (Columbus, OH, USA)
4.2. Applications of Spatial Analysis House Prices (Boston, MA, USA)
4.3. Applications of Spatial Analysis to Regional Growth Convergence (of 61 countries)
Epilogue
In
late October of 1244 in Konya, Turkey, Shams found the student he was
looking for: Jalaluddin Rumi, already a famous Islamic scholar in
Turkey. Under the tutelage of Shams, Rumi became one of the most revered
poets in the world, as Rumi said,“ I was raw. I was cooked. I was
burned.”
March 1248
Konya, Turkey
Rumi’s son Aladdin hired a killer who did not require much convincing.
It
was a windy night, unusually chilly for this time of the year. A few
nocturnal animals hoofed and howled from afar. The killer was waiting.
Shams of Tabriz came out of the house holding an oil lamp in his hand
and walked in the direction of the killer and stopped only a few steps
away from the bush where the killer was hiding. “It is a lovely night,
isn’t it?” Shams asked. Did he know the killer was there? Soon six
others joined the killer. The seven of them knocked Shams to the ground,
and the killer pulled his dagger out of his belt...... Together they
lifted Shams’ body which was strangely light, and dumped him into
a well. Gasping loudly for air, each of them took a step back and waited to hear the sound of Shams’ body hitting the water.
It never came.
Taken from: Elif Shafak (2010), The Forty Rules of Love, Penguin Books.
-------
About me: Anil K. Bera
My family name stands for:
Business Economics Research Advisor (BERA).
However, my family history goes back to Biblical times: (Genesis 14:2) “ That
these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah...”
Naturally, I am not at all proud of this.
I also have solid business experience - “run” an Internet Kafe in Turkey (below). I
wanted to have my email
address as @nil@uiuc.edu, but unfortunately, the university didn’t allow
it. I also run a hotel (below) in Ankara, capital of Turkey.
What about AB? These are first two English letters. Also think of first two
alphabets in Arabic: alif and ba There is a . (dot) below ba, which embodies the
entire universe:
Finally, the line below is from Bera’s Bible:
(Matthew 19:26):“ But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them: With professors
this is impossible, but with Students all things are possible.”