Spatial interaction between the investments in PRONAF and the Rural Development Index in Northeastern municipalities

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyze the spatial interaction between the Rural Development Index (RDI) and the investments destined to PRONAF in the municipalities of the Northeast in 2000 and 2010. Considering the inter-municipal relationships that can generate spatial dependence, the methodology adopted was the Bivariate Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (AEDE). The Moran Global Index was calculated to verify the existence and degree of spatial correlation of the IDR and PRONAF variables and the Moran Local Index to locate the spatial agglomerations. In the global analysis, the results showed a positive correlation for the two variables in the two periods, that is, a predominance of clusters with similar values, whether they were lower or higher. In the local analysis, agglomerations of Low-Low municipalities predominated, in which municipalities with a RDI below the average are neighbors with municipalities with PRONAF also below the average. The existence of spatial dependence of the municipalities, both when looking at the variables separately, and when analyzing the two variables together, suggests that the characteristics of the municipalities exert, from their inter-municipal relationships, some influence on their neighbors considering their proximity relationship. In addition, a greater number of municipalities in Baixo-Baixo agglomerations shows that the panorama of rural development in the Northeast is still critical.

Keywords
rural development; family agriculture; space dependence