Spatial autocorrelation in indicators related to Portuguese agriculture: Data from the Agricultural Census

The spatial effects exist and have their impacts when analyses that involve different countries, regions, or municipalities are made. Still, they are sometimes ignored in these assessments and this may bring problems of robustness on the results and conclusions obtained. Additionally, the consideration of these spatial effects may bring relevant insights for the analyses. It can support better the design of common strategies and policies to deal with frameworks that involve different spatial units. In this perspective, this research aims to analyse the current context of the agricultural sector in Portugal and identify spatial autocorrelation effects for agricultural indicators in mainland Portuguese municipalities (parishes), considering the data from the Agricultural Census 2019. These indicators were interrelated through cross-section methodologies, based on the Cobb-Douglas production function. The results obtained highlight relevant signs of spatial autocorrelation effects in different parts of Portugal’s mainland and the impact of some production factors on the levels of output.