Solar farm policy and farmland price - A land zoning perspective.

Photovoltaic or solar energy is recognized as a significant source of renewable energy on a global scale. The utilization of ground-mounted solar panels is closely associated with the use of farmland, as solar power generation typically requires vast expanses of farmland. While previous studies have explored the use of price incentives to regulate the adoption of solar panels, little is known about the impact of land zoning policies on farmland prices. The relationship between farmland use policies and farmland prices is well-documented, with policies often capitalizing into the value of the land across various countries. The deployment of ground-mounted solar panels has raised concerns about the potential loss of farmland and the degradation of the farming environment. However, the policy debate has largely overlooked the price capitalization effect of solar panel installations. In an effort to mitigate the adverse effects of solar panels on agriculture, the Taiwanese government implemented revised zoning regulations that impose stricter limitations on small-scale ground-mounted type solar panels installed on farmland. As a result of this policy reform, solar panels are no longer permitted on farmland areas measuring less than 660 square meters. While it is expected that the installation of solar panels will slow down, the resulting price effects on farmland remain poorly understood. This paper measures the impact of the land zoning regulation on farmland prices in Taiwan. By utilizing nationwide data on farmland transactions and employing the difference-in-differences method, we discover that the tightened regulations pertaining to solar panel installation have led to a 21.8% reduction in farmland prices. Furthermore, the negative price effect is found to be least pronounced in high-productivity farmland. We also find that the decline in prices commenced two months after the reform and continued to intensify over time. Additionally, we identify a distributional effect concerning price, whereby farmland with higher prices per hectare experiences the most significant impact. Consequently, our study contributes an empirical analysis that confirms the substantial price capitalization effects of land zoning policies on farmland.

Do elections make you sick? Evidence from first-time voters.

Elections permit the continuance of democracy and enable economic development, but may have unintended effects on health. By applying a two-part model with regression discontinuity design to administrative health care claims, we determine that elections increased health care use during legally specified campaign periods by as much as 19% for first-time voters. Contrary to earlier studies focusing on mental health, we find higher spending on the treatment of physical health conditions, such as acute respiratory infections, gastrointestinal conditions and injuries. Levels of medical spending during campaign periods were highest in rural areas and among low-to-middle-income men. Using data on campaign spending from local elections, we identify campaign rallies as one important mechanism for the transmission of disease. Our findings provide additional rationale for policies that limit campaign spending on the grounds that it is socially wasteful.

COVID-19 prevention, air pollution and transportation patterns in the absence of a lockdown.

Recent studies demonstrate that air quality improved during the coronavirus pandemic due to the imposition of social lockdowns. We investigate the impact of COVID-19 on air pollution in the two largest cities in Taiwan, which were not subject to economic or mobility restrictions. Using a difference-in-differences approach and real-time data on air quality and transportation, we estimate that anthropogenic air pollution from local sources increased during working days and decreased during non-working days during the COVID-19 pandemic. This led to a 3-7 percent increase in CO, O3, SO2, PM10 and PM2.5. We demonstrate that the increase in air pollution resulted from a shift in preferred mode of travel away from public transportation and towards personal motor vehicles during working days. In particular, metro and shared bicycle usage decreased between 8 and 18 percent, on average, while automobile and scooter use increased between 11 and 21 percent during working days. Similar COVID-19 prevention behaviors in regions or countries emerging from lockdowns could likewise result in an increase in air pollution. Taking action to reduce the transmissibility of COVID-19 on metro cars, trains and buses could help policymakers limit the substitution of personal motor vehicles for public transit, and mitigate increases in air pollution when lifting mobility restrictions.

Does COVID-19 affect metro use in Taipei?

This paper provides the first evidence of the causal effect of COVID-19 on metro use using real-time data from the Taipei Metro System in Taiwan. In contrast to other cities or countries, Taiwan did not enforce strict social lockdowns or mandatory stay-at-home orders to combat COVID-19. The major prevention strategies to the pandemic in Taiwan include promoting social distancing, mandating the wearing of face masks in public areas, and requiring all international arrivals to quarantine for 14 days. Using administrative data on confirmed cases of COVID-19 and ridership from metro stations with the difference-in-differences model, we find that an additional new confirmed case of COVID-19 reduces metro use by 1.43% after controlling for local socio-demographic variables associated with ridership and the number of international arrivals to Taiwan. This result implies that the reduction in metro trips is attributable to decreases in residents' use of public transportation due to perceived health risks. Furthermore, the effect of COVID-19 on metro use disproportionally impacts stations with different characteristics. The effect is more pronounced for metro stations connected to night markets, shopping centers, or colleges. Although decreases in metro ridership lower the revenue of the Taipei Metro System, our results indicate a tradeoff between increased financial burdens of public transportation systems and reducing medical expenses associated with COVID-19.

Does the room sharing business model disrupt housing markets? Empirical evidence of Airbnb in Taiwan.

Recent research interest has focused on the impact of the room sharing business model on housing markets. However, existing empirical evidence is limited and exclusively focuses on few large cities in the U.S. This study examines the effects of Airbnb on housing rental and sales prices using a unique large-scale dataset comprised of housing market transaction records and the number of Airbnb listings drawn from their website in Taiwan. We estimate a fixed effect model of housing rental and sales price equations and find that a one-standard deviation increase in the number of Airbnb listings raises house rental prices by 0.38%. This finding suggests that a substitution effect is present between Airbnb's short-term accommodation and the housing rental market. Moreover, a larger effect on rental price is found among Airbnb listings that offer an entire room or apartment. Additionally, since September 2017, multinational digital platform companies must comply with a new sales tax policy in Taiwan. We evaluate the effect of this tax policy using the difference-in-difference method and find a negative impact on the number of Airbnb listings and housing rental prices after its implementation. This study is the first to empirically assess the effectiveness of tax policy on regulating room sharing business models.

What Determines Forest Farmers' Participation in Afforestation Programs? Empirical Evidence from a Population-Based Census Survey.

Afforestation programs have become increasingly significant as policymakers attempt to protect the environment and reduce climate change. Although many studies have examined the participation decisions of forest farm households in afforestation programs, these studies fail to consider different types of these policies. This paper fills this knowledge gap by studying the determinants of forest farms participating in two afforestation programs on plain and sloped land in Taiwan. We construct a population-based sample of forest farms drawn from agricultural census surveys in Taiwan and estimate the multinomial logit model. We find that failing to distinguish between afforestation programs may result in misleading findings. Moreover, socio-demographic and farm production characteristics also affect participation decisions. Additional results from a simple simulation exercise show that forest farms are more likely to enroll in afforestation programs on sloped land, possibly due to lower opportunity costs.

Inter-brand competition in the convenience store industry, store density and healthcare utilization.

We investigate the impact of access to convenience stores and competition between convenience store chains on the use of medical care in Taiwan. Using insurance claims from 0.85 million individuals and administrative data on store sales, we find that greater store density and more inter-brand competition reduced expenditures on outpatient medical services and prescription drugs. In support of these findings, we demonstrate that convenience store competition was associated with greater consumption of healthy foods and lower obesity rates. Our estimates suggest that the rise in convenience store competition from 2002 to 2012 reduced outpatient expenditures in Taiwan by 0.44 percent and prescription drug expenditures by 0.85 percent.

Does Eating Out Make Elderly People Depressed? Empirical Evidence from National Health and Nutrition Survey in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates the association between eating out and depressive symptoms among elderly people. Potential mediators that may link to elderly eating out and depressive symptoms are also discussed. METHODS: A unique dataset of 1,184 individuals aged 65 and older was drawn from the National Health and Nutrition Survey in 2008 in Taiwan. A bivariate probit model and an instrumental variable probit model were estimated to account for correlated, unmeasured factors that may be associated with both the decision and frequency of eating out and depressive symptoms in the elderly. An additional analysis is conducted to check whether the nutrient intakes and body weights can been seen as mediators that link the association between eating out and depressive symptoms of the elderly. RESULTS: Elderly people who eat out are 38 percent points more likely to have depressive symptoms than their counterparts who do not eat out, after controlling for socio-demographic characteristics and other factors. A positive association between the frequency of eating out and the likelihood of having depressive symptoms of the elderly is also found. It is evident that one addition meal away from home is associated with an increase of the likelihood of being depressed by 3.8 percentage points. With respect to the mediations, we find that nutrient intakes and body weight are likely to serve as mediators for the positive relationship between eating out and depressive symptoms in the elderly. CONCLUSION: Our results show that elderly who eat out have a higher chance of having depressive symptoms. To prevent depressive symptoms in the elderly, policy makers should be aware of the relationship among psychological status, physical health and nutritional health when assisting the elderly to better manage their food consumption away from home. LIMITATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH: Our study have some caveats. First, the interpretation of our results on the causality issue calls for caution in that our analysis relies on a cross-sectional survey. Second, other measures to define elderly depression, such as the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) score, can be used to check the robustness of our findings. Finally, the availability of food outlets in the local area and family characteristics are possibly associated with food away from home of the elderly. If data permit, the relationship between eating out and elderly depressive symptoms can be better identified after controlling for variables related to food facilities and family characteristics.

Does Eating Out Make Elderly People Depressed? Empirical Evidence from National Health and Nutrition Survey in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates the association between eating out and depressive symptoms among elderly people. Potential mediators that may link to elderly eating out and depressive symptoms are also discussed. METHODS: A unique dataset of 1,184 individuals aged 65 and older was drawn from the National Health and Nutrition Survey in 2008 in Taiwan. A bivariate probit model and an instrumental variable probit model were estimated to account for correlated, unmeasured factors that may be associated with both the decision and frequency of eating out and depressive symptoms in the elderly. An additional analysis is conducted to check whether the nutrient intakes and body weights can be seen as mediators that link the association between eating out and depressive symptoms of the elderly. RESULTS: Elderly people who eat out are 38 percent points more likely to have depressive symptoms than their counterparts who do not eat out, after controlling for socio-demographic characteristics and other factors. A positive association between the frequency of eating out and the likelihood of having depressive symptoms of the elderly is also found. It is evident that one additional meal away from home is associated with an increase of the likelihood of being depressed by 3.8 percentage points. With respect to the mediations, we find that nutrient intakes and body weight are likely to serve as mediators for the positive relationship between eating out and depressive symptoms in the elderly. CONCLUSION: Our results show that elderly who eat out have a higher chance of having depressive symptoms. To prevent depressive symptoms in the elderly, policy makers should be aware of the relationship among psychological status, physical health and nutritional health when assisting the elderly to better manage their food consumption away from home. LIMITATONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH: Our study have some caveats. First, the interpretation of our results on the causality issue calls for caution in that our analysis relies on a cross-sectional survey. Second, other measures to define elderly depression, such as the Center for Epidemiological Studies -Depression (CES-D) score, can be used to check the robustness of our findings. Finally, the availability of food outlets in the local area and family characteristics are possible associated with food away from home of the elderly. If data permit, the relationship between eating out and elderly depressive symptoms can be better identified after controlling for variables related to food facilities and family characteristics.

Change in weight status and academic performance among senior high school students in Taiwan.

INTRODUCTION: This study examines how the changes in weight status across the spectrum of a senior high school study are associated with academic performance measured by the university entrance exam scores. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A unique dataset which compiles a national health examination profile and the General Scholastic Ability Test data bank in Taiwan was constructed. The final sample comprised 149,240 senior high school students of which 70,662 were males and 78,578 were female students. The school-level fixed effect models were estimated. RESULTS: Students who were either (a) not overweight in the first year but overweight in the third year of senior high school, (b) overweight in both the first and third year, or (c) overweight in the first year but not overweight in the third year, were more likely to score lower on the university entrance exam, compared with their never-overweight counterparts. The findings differ by gender and test subjects. DISCUSSIONS: The change in weight status during senior high school period is associated with subsequent university entrance exam outcome. Students who start senior high school being overweight should be paid attention. School-based programs and practices need to be implemented to reduce the prevalence of overweight among students.

Examining the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and body weight status: empirical evidence from a population-based survey of adults in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death worldwide. Meanwhile, obesity has been recognized as a global epidemic. This study aims to examine the extent to which cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with body mass among adult males and females in Taiwan. MaTERIALS AND METHODS: A nationally representative dataset consisting of 68,175 adults aged 18-60, including 31,743 males and 36,432 females, was used. Several multivariate regression models were used to investigate the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and body weight status, after controlling for adults' sociodemographic status. RESULTS: A one-unit increase in the BMI lowered the cardiorespiratory fitness score by 0.316 and 0.368 points for adult males and females, respectively. Among adult males, compared to those of normal weight, adult males who were underweight, overweight, or obese had a lower cardiorespiratory fitness score by 1.287, 0.845, and 3.353 points, respectively. Similar results could be found in female samples. CONCLUSION: The overweight and obese adults had much lower levels of cardiorespiratory fitness as compared to their normal weight counterparts. Given the upward trend in the prevalence of overweight and obesity, it is important to help overweight and obese people to become more fit and reach their healthy weight.

Is tattooing a risk factor for adolescents' criminal behavior? Empirical evidence from an administrative data set of juvenile detainees in Taiwan.

Juvenile crime affects not only the victims of the crime but also the delinquents' future. How to prevent adolescent criminal behavior has become an important public policy issue. This study contributes to this interesting issue by examining the relationship between tattooing and adolescents' criminal behavior. In particular, this study investigates whether or not having a tattoo/tattoos is connected to the incidence of various criminal activities, including: larceny, robbery, fraud, assault, drug use, and homicide. A unique sample of 973 juvenile detainees drawn from the administrative profiles in Taiwan and the coarsened exact matching method were utilized. Results show that compared to their nontattooed counterparts, tattooed juvenile detainees were significantly more likely to commit fraud, assault, drug abuse, and homicide by 3%, 13%, 9%, and 9%, respectively. In contrast, tattooing was not significantly associated with larceny or robbery. From a policy perspective, given the significant link between tattooing and criminal behavior, the presence of a tattoo in adolescents may serve as a valuable indicator regarding adolescents' high probability of committing crimes.

Physical fitness and academic performance: empirical evidence from the National Administrative Senior High School Student Data in Taiwan.

This study examined the relationship between the changes of physical fitness across the 3-year spectrum of senior high school study and academic performance measured by standardized tests in Taiwan. A unique dataset of 149 240 university-bound senior high school students from 2009 to 2011 was constructed by merging two nationwide administrative datasets of physical fitness test performance and the university entrance exam scores. Hierarchical linear regression models were used. All regressions included controls for students' baseline physical fitness status, changes of physical fitness performance over time, age and family economic status. Some notable findings were revealed. An increase of 1 SD on students' overall physical fitness from the first to third school year is associated with an increase in the university entrance exam scores by 0.007 and 0.010 SD for male and female students, respectively. An increase of 1 SD on anaerobic power (flexibility) from the first to third school year is positively associated with an increase in the university entrance exam scores by 0.018 (0.010) SD among female students. We suggest that education and school health policymakers should consider and design policies to improve physical fitness as part of their overall strategy of improving academic performance.

Urban-rural disparity in physical fitness of elementary schoolchildren in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Childhood fitness is generally evaluated by a battery of health-related estimators to assess pediatric health status. More so than the fitness level at any other stage of life, the level of physical fitness in childhood will have a marked effect on an individual's physical development and overall health in adolescence and adulthood. This paper contributes to this issue by investigating the differences in the distribution of the physical fitness of elementary schoolchildren aged 9-12 by gender, region and ethnicity. METHODS: Data were drawn from a nationwide dataset of physical fitness test profiles of elementary school students, conducted by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan in 2008. In total, 134,546 schoolchildren in fourth to sixth grade aged from 9 to 12 were included. Three components of physical fitness are measured: explosive power; muscle strength; and flexibility. Each fitness test was carried out by the school teachers during physical education classes. A statistical test procedure was then used to test the distribution differences in each category of physical fitness by age, gender and region. By further using the official recommended levels, the proportions of schoolchildren who have poor physical fitness performance were also examined. RESULTS: In general, boys have better physical fitness than girls except in the area of flexibility. In addition to gender differences, the present results are supportive of there being differences in the rural and urban populations. The rural children perform better than urban children in bent-leg curl-ups and standing long jump tests. CONCLUSIONS: Physical fitness has been recognized not only as an integrated predictor of the body's functional status, but also as an important marker of health outcomes. Although considerable attention had been paid to examining the urban-rural differences in physical fitness, it is necessary to further consider the differences in ethnicity.

Out-of-pocket expenditures on traditional and Western medicine in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVES: Coexistence of traditional and modern medicine is common in Asian countries. This paper investigates out-of-pocket expenditures on traditional medicine, traditional medical service, and Western medicine by households in Taiwan. METHODS: Using a national sample of 13,765 households, the three expenditure equations are estimated with a censored system procedure. Effects of socio-demographic variables are explored by calculating marginal effects on probabilities and levels of medical expenses. RESULTS: Different types of medical expenditures are correlated. Households with higher income and more aging members use more traditional medicine than others, as do households in agricultural sector and in urban areas. In addition, households living in rural areas relative to those in the cities are more likely to use and also spend more on traditional service. Regional disparity of health care utilization is found. CONCLUSIONS: Higher income households spend more on traditional medicine, likely due to the fact that patients usually pay out-of-pocket for herbal materials needed in preparation of traditional medicine. To ensure equity in health care utilization, establishment of hospitals and clinics in rural areas should be considered.

National Health Insurance program and life satisfaction of the elderly.

OBJECTIVES: To ensure people's fundamental right to adequate medical care, universal health insurance is given a high priority in contemporary public policy. This article investigates the effects of the introduction of Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) on life satisfaction within the elderly segment of the population. METHODS: A longitudinal data set including 610 males and 430 females aged 65 or above was constructed from the Survey of Health and Living Status of the Elderly in Taiwan. A difference-in-differences-in-differences model was employed and estimated by the random-effect regression method. RESULTS: The effects of NHI on life satisfaction are different by gender. Compared to the change in life satisfaction between the previously uninsured and insured elderly men, the introduction of NHI had a larger effect of 4.330 points on reducing the disparity in life satisfaction between previously uninsured and insured elderly women. Education, living arrangements, lifestyle, social activities, geographic location, and urbanization level are also important determinants for life satisfaction among the elderly. CONCLUSIONS: Although NHI is designed to ensure equality for accessing health care, the implementation of NHI has also improved the subjective well-being of the elderly, with a larger improvement for the elderly women. The post-NHI disparity reductions in life satisfaction between the previously uninsured and insured are significantly greater among elderly women. Our analysis of Taiwan's experience should provide a valuable lesson to countries that are in the initial stages of proposing a universal health insurance program.

Chemical usage in production agriculture: do crop insurance and off-farm work play a part?

In recent years a growing body of literature in the agricultural policy arena has examined the association between crop insurance and off-farm employment. However, little is known about the extent to which these two activities may be related to environmental quality, in particular their impacts on fertilizer/chemical use of the farm. To fill this gap, this paper examines the effect of crop insurance and off-farm work on fertilizer/chemical expenses within the farm household framework. Quantile regression results from a national representative farm-level data show that off-farm work by the farm operator tends to decrease fertilizer/chemical expenses, and the effect is more pronounced at the higher percentiles of the distribution of fertilizer/chemical expense. In contrast, a positive effect of crop insurance on fertilizer/chemical expenses is evident, and the effect is robust across the entire distribution.

Does the universal health insurance program affect urban-rural differences in health service utilization among the elderly? Evidence from a longitudinal study in taiwan.

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of the introduction of Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) on urban-rural inequality in health service utilization among the elderly. METHODS: A longitudinal data set of 1,504 individuals aged 65 and older was constructed from the Survey of Health and Living Status of the Elderly. A difference-in-differences model was employed and estimated by the random-effect probit method. FINDING: The introduction of universal NHI in Taiwan heterogeneously affected outpatient and inpatient health service utilization among the elderly in urban and rural areas. The introduction of NHI reduced the disparity of outpatient (inpatient) utilization between the previously uninsured and insured older urban residents by 12.9 (22.0) percentage points. However, there was no significant reduction in the utilization disparity between the previously uninsured and insured elderly among rural residents. CONCLUSIONS: Our study on Taiwan's experience should provide a valuable lesson to countries that are in an initial stage of proposing a universal health insurance system. Although NHI is designed to ensure the equitable right to access health care, it may result in differential impacts on health service utilization among the elderly across areas. The rural elderly tend to confront more challenges in accessing health care associated with spatial distance, transportation, social isolation, poverty, and a lack of health care providers, especially medical specialists.

Association between obesity and depression: evidence from a longitudinal sample of the elderly in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVES: Obesity has been identified as an epidemic worldwide. In Taiwan, the highest prevalence of obesity is observed in adults age ≥65. This article investigates the effects of body weight status on the likelihood of depression among the elderly in Taiwan. METHOD: A longitudinal sample of the elderly (1351 males and 1165 females) interviewed in both the 1999 and 2003 Surveys of Health and Living Status of the Elderly in Taiwan is used. A random effect logit model is estimated to examine the effects of body weight status, lifestyle, and socio-demographic characteristics on the likelihood of depression. RESULTS: About 10.4% of the elderly men are overweight and 13.4% are obese in 2003. A higher prevalence of obesity is found among elderly women, with 19.3% being overweight and 26.4% obese. Elderly men who are underweight are more likely to be depressed (odds ratio; OR = 2.36) than those from other weight categories, while overweight and obese women are less likely to be depressed (ORs = 0.72 and 0.61) than elderly women of the normal weight category. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to most findings for the Western countries, a negative association between obesity and depression of the elderly is evident in Taiwan. The different findings between Western and Asian countries may be due to the cultural differences. Unlike the Western countries that stigmata are attached to excessive overweight, being overweight is not a symbol of unhealthiness because only the wealthy can afford to eat more and put on more weight in the Chinese society.

Examining the types and payments of the disabilities of the insurants in the National Farmers' Health Insurance program in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: In contrast to the considerable body of literature concerning the disabilities of the general population, little information exists pertaining to the disabilities of the farm population. Focusing on the disability issue to the insurants in the Farmers' Health Insurance (FHI) program in Taiwan, this paper examines the associations among socio-demographic characteristics, insured factors, and the introduction of the national health insurance program, as well as the types and payments of disabilities among the insurants. METHODS: A unique dataset containing 1,594,439 insurants in 2008 was used in this research. A logistic regression model was estimated for the likelihood of received disability payments. By focusing on the recipients, a disability payment and a disability type equation were estimated using the ordinary least squares method and a multinomial logistic model, respectively, to investigate the effects of the exogenous factors on their received payments and the likelihood of having different types of disabilities. RESULTS: Age and different job categories are significantly associated with the likelihood of receiving disability payments. Compared to those under age 45, the likelihood is higher among recipients aged 85 and above (the odds ratio is 8.04). Compared to hired workers, the odds ratios for self-employed and spouses of farm operators who were not members of farmers' associations are 0.97 and 0.85, respectively. In addition, older insurants are more likely to have eye problems; few differences in disability types are related to insured job categories. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that older farmers are more likely to receive disability payments, but the likelihood is not much different among insurants of various job categories. Among all of the selected types of disability, a highest likelihood is found for eye disability. In addition, the introduction of the national health insurance program decreases the likelihood of receiving disability payments. The experience in Taiwan can be valuable for other countries that are in an initial stage to implement a universal health insurance program.