Open AccessModifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP): Analysis of Agriculture of the State of Paraná-Brazil
Author(s) -
Elizabeth Giron Cima,
eimar Freire da Rocha-Junior,
Miguel Ángel Uribe-Opazo,
Gustavo Henrique Dalposso
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
agris on-line papers in economics and informatics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.245
H-Index - 16
ISSN - 1804-1930
DOI - 10.7160/aol.2021.130203
Subject(s) - geography , unit (ring theory) , gross domestic product , agriculture , socioeconomic status , spatial analysis , agricultural productivity , work (physics) , regional science , cartography , economic growth , demography , sociology , economics , psychology , population , archaeology , mechanical engineering , mathematics education , remote sensing , engineering
The way the researcher groups his research data will influence the result of his work. In the literature, this phenomenon is treated as a Problem of the Modifiable Areal Unit. The objective of this article was to analyze the three spatial levels by Municipalities, Regional Centers and Mesoregions using the following data: gross domestic product, effective agricultural production, grain production and gross value of agricultural production for the state of Paraná-Brazil in the period since 2012 until 2015. The methodological procedure studied data from the Paranaense Institute for Economic and Social Development of the above-named variables collected on the website of the Paranaense Institute for Economic and Social Development of the 399 municipalities, 23 regional centers and 10 mesoregions. The results found show the presence of the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem, presenting different results for each level of grouping. The study revealed the problem of the modifiable areal unit is a relevant occurrence and it should be disregarded by researchers who work with clusters of spatial data in their studies. The results found allow a better understanding of the scale effect and demonstrate the efficiency of spatial analysis in socioeconomic data.