Spatial effects are determinants of agricultural land prices in Brazil

Abstract This study aims to determine whether spatial effects are determinants of agricultural land prices in Brazil. For this purpose, data on the value of the bare land in municipalities in Brazil for 2020, provided by the Federal Revenue Service, were used. Although this database has national coverage, the contiguous data necessary for the application of spatial econometric models allowed us to cover the central-south region of the country. An exploratory spatial data analysis was performed, and the spatial Durbin econometric model was applied. Based on our results, there is a strong spatial dependence on land price, manifested both in the dependent variable, spatially lagged, and through the spillover effects of the independent variables. In addition, it was found that the degree of urbanization of a municipality, the municipal gross domestic product per capita, the average size of properties, the agricultural productivity, and the area dedicated to soybean planting in a rural property are also important determining factors in the pricing of agricultural land. Accordingly, it is possible to conclude that spatial effects influence the determination of agricultural land prices in Brazil.