Help with merge on a map?

[Joseph Vallely]

Hi, I'm very new to stata and I'm struggling to make a map.
the code i've made is this:

ssc install spmap
ssc install shp2dta
ssc install mif2dta

cd "/Users/joseph/Documents/Econometrics/Stata data"

shp2dta using Municipios_2009, database(mexdb) coordinates(mexcoord) genid(id)

use mexdb.dta

describe

gen loc_code= CVE_ENT+ CVE_MUN
destring loc_code, replace

merge 1:1 loc_code using "totalhomicides.dta"
drop merge

spmap totalhomicides using mexcoord, id(id) fcolor(Blues)


everything is fine until i get to "merge 1:1 loc_code using "totalhomicides.dta" then it says that the variable "loc_code" can't be found even though i thought i've just generated it.

Any help would be really appreciated sorry if this is a bad question i'm really new to stata and dont know what Ive done wrong.

Thank you

[Andrew Musau]

everything is fine until i get to "merge 1:1 loc_code using "totalhomicides.dta" then it says that the variable "loc_code" can't be found even though i thought i've just generated it.

Have you confirmed that it is present in "totalhomicides.dta"?

use "totalhomicides.dta"
dataex in 1/5