The Spatial Effects of Regional Poverty: Spatial Dependence, Spatial Heterogeneity and Scale Effects

Recognizing the spatial effects of regional poverty is essential for achieving sustainable poverty alleviation. This study investigates these spatial effects and their determinants across three distinct administrative levels within Hubei Province, China. To analyze the spatial patterns and heterogeneity of multi-scale regional poverty, we employed various spatial analysis techniques, including the global and local Moran's I statistics, the Lineman, Merenda, and Gold (LMG) method, as well as Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR). We found that: (1) Regional poverty exhibits significant spatial dependence across various scales, with a higher level of spatial dependence observed at higher administrative levels. (2) The spatial distribution of poverty is primarily influenced by geographical factors, encompassing first-, second-, and third-nature geographical elements. Notably, first-nature geographical factors make substantial contributions, accounting for 36.99%, 42.23%, and 23.79% at the county, township, and village levels, respectively. (3) The influence of geographical factors varies with scale. Global effects of various factors may transcend scales or remain confined to specific scales, while the local impacts of different factors also exhibit variations across scales. These results underscore the necessity for collaborative efforts among government entities at different levels with the anti-poverty measures tailored to local contexts.