This paper investigates nonlinearity in parametric spatial process models that incorporate regime-switching by means of a smooth transition autoregressive process. We derive a Lagrange Multiplier (LM) test for nonlinearity as well as several joint LM tests for nonlinearity and the traditional...

This paper uses exploratory and spatial econometric data analysis techniques to investigate the role of space, technological leadership, and human capital for the growth of U.S. counties. We investigate a simple neoclassical-inspired growth model and compare it to a spatial version of an...