This paper investigates the impact of income inequality on grand total crime, larceny and violent crime by using the dynamic panel data of 20 cities and counties in Taiwan during 1998 to 2010. The empirical results show that income inequality has a significant positive impact on grand total crime, larceny and violent crime, but unemployment rate and the proportion of the population between 15 and 64 years old both have no significant influence on three kinds of crimes. Moreover the effect of the other explanatory variables is significant on at least one kind of crimes. The empirical results also support that the criminal expected utility theory, social anomic, disorganization, conflict and strain theories are helpful to explain the criminal behavior of Taiwan.

In this dissertation, I study the effects of climate change on agricultural total factor productivity and crop yields and their variability. In addition, an examination was conducted on the value of select climate change adaptation strategies in forestry. Across the study, the climate change scenarios analyzed were based on the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Report. Climate change impacts on the returns to research investments were examined extending the work of Huffman and Evenson (2006), incorporating climatic effects. The conjecture is that the rate of return of agricultural research is falling due to altered resource allocations and unfavorable weather conditions, arising from the early onset of climate change. This work was done using a panel model of Agricultural Total Factor Productivity (TFP) for the forty-eight contiguous states over 1970?1999. Climatic variables such as temperature and amount and intensity of precipitation were added into the model. The main results are (1) climate change affects research productivity, varying by region; (2) this effect is generally negative; (3) additional investments are needed to achieve pre-climate change TFP rates of growth; and (4) the predicted investment increases are on the order of 18%. The second inquiry involved the impact of historical climatic conditions on the statistical distributions of crop yields through mean and variability. This was done statistically, using historical yields for several crops in the US, and climate variables, with annual observations from 1960 to 2007. The estimation shows that climate change is having an effect on the first two moments of the distribution, concluding that crop yield distributions are not stationary. The implication is that risk analysis must consider means and volatility measures that depend on future climatic conditions. The analysis shows that future mean yields will increase, but volatility will also be greater for the studied crops. These results have strong implication for future crop insurance decisions. Finally, an examination was done on the value of select forestry adaptation strategies in the face of climate change. This work is motivated by the known fact that forestry sector is already heavily adapted to changing climatic conditions. Using the Forestry and Agriculture Sector Optimization Model for the United States (FASOM), I found that rotation age is the most effective adaptation strategy being worth about 60 billion dollars, while changes in species and management intensity are worth about 1.5 billion, and land use change between forestry to agriculture is worth about 200,000.

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Abstract In recent years, many economists point out that physical capital stock and human capital stock cannot identify the difference of income effectively. Therefore, they attempt to add more interpreted variables, trying to illustrate economic growth that physical capital and human capital cannot explain. In general, economic growth theory has been applied to cross-country studies, and empirical researches of single country are limited. The main reason is that one cannot know how to measure the physical capital stock between states of a country efficiently. According to the method of Garofalo and Yamarik (2002), one can estimate the physical capital stocks of each state of the United States and justify the validity of Solow growth model. This paper specifically focuses on the so called new economy era (1990-2000). Our primary goal is to expand the existing models into more comprehensive one by including more explanatory variables. In 1999, The Nobelist -Grossman- released the concept of health capital ¡§One can choose the length of life¡¨. Each will be endowed initial value of health stock which depreciates through time and appreciates through the self-investment, exercising, for example. Health capital is also a kind of element of human capital; it will help human capital work normally. For this reason, we consider to measure U.S. output not only consider the effects of accumulation of physical capital and human capital, but also contains contributions of health capital. To analyze economic implications in three models from this study, there are several remarks can be drown¡G Firstly, physical capital and human capital provide significantly positive effect for economic growth rates of U.S. states from 1990 to 2000. The magnitude of estimated coefficient of physical capital has been decreasing, which denotes two phenomenons. In the one hand, physical capitals positively contribute the US economic growth. On the other hand, its influence to economic growth has marginally decreased over time. In contrast to physical capitals, human capital has shown constantly increasing influence to the US economic growth. Secondly, after adding the variable of health capital, the model can account the large scale of variation of the U.S. economic growth. The reason is that agents in the economy add their own length of life in the model and, then defer retirement and extend their productivities to economic growth. Thirdly, although term of is a random variable of cross states in the model; despite of technology stock, it comprises different endowment of resource, geographical location and institution etc. Therefore, it displays individual characteristics of every state. Hence, economic growth will reveal significant and positive beneficial result when we can think about more component of (for instant, adding political party variables) to improve and develop it. Lastly, we have low adjusted in this paper, and maybe because we focus on long-run output, and do not look upon puzzle of short-run business cycle. Romer (1987) denotes that short-run business cycle of economic variables dominates change of some variables for contributing long-run economic growth that will make estimation to convert nefficiently. Synthesizing the above mentioned consequences, one can find that U.S. impressed economic performance from 1990 to 2000. Not only contribute physical capital and human capital to the economy, health capital is another key element to maintain such sustained economic growth. Consequently, we suggest that if a nation pays more attention to health capital, which will result in economic growth and increase competitiveness for the nation. The results of this paper using the US as a sample may can serve as a reference to other countries using as a example to improve economic growth in the future.

Due to there is no record of migration in China, we estimate migration by Johnson¡¦s (2003) way. Estimates of migration among the provinces of China area were made by comparison of the provincial population from the 1994 to the 2003 censuses. The estimates were made by comparing every year between 1995 and 2004 population of each province with what it would have been if population had increased solely due to national growth-the excess of births over deaths. Unfortunately, the estimate of the increase in provincial populations due to migration was much greater than the estimate of the loss of population by migration. Possible reasons for the difference in the estimates due primarily to the underestimation of immigrants. Because this difference amounts to less than 3% of the 1995-2004 population of China, the data is still useful to us. Because wage is a kind of price, we adopt the method by Engel and Rogers (1996), and use the law of one price to examine the wage differential in China area. We find that high migration gap, long distance and the presence of coast all lead to an increase in wage differential in China area. We also find that distance and border reduce differential among provinces. Note that the distance has a positive effect on wage differential, and the square of distance has a negative effect. This means the distance relationship were concave. Finally, we examine the tendency in the standard deviation of wage differential and migration gap among the provinces of China during the period 1994-2003. The standard deviation of wage differential widened, and the standard of migration gap did not display strong increasing or decreasing. Although the growth rate of wage differential was positive, it reduced in recent years. The average growth rate of migration gap was close to zero, there is not significant tendency.

We review previous literature on productivity effects of FDI in China and find that the evidence of FDI spillovers on her economic growth rate is mixed. Take A. Marino (2000) and E-G Lim (2001) for example, they pointed out that it just happened conditionally. Thus due to the proof of its plausibility, China¡¦s experience may help underdeveloped countries fulfill their goals and become one of the most contentious issues. Based on CH(1995), this paper presents a 3-sector R&D-based endogenous growth model in an open economy with human capital accumulation and the existing stocks of technology from MNCs as well as domestic industries. And the thread of thought is that the technology growth rate will arise if technological spillovers of FDI do act in domestic R&D sectors, and that will lead to the better development of economy. The solution satisfied to the competitive equilibrium conditions shows that long-run growth rate arises from the improvement of absorptive capability and higher human capital stock, while the relationships between technology gap and steady-state growth rate are uncertain. Then, bottomed on the results of theoretical model and the existing information including Chinese 30 provincial level data for 1996-2004, this paper tests with econometric methods¡Ð panel data OLS model with fixed effect¡Ðand makes empirical analyses. In addition, absorptive capacity is weighted by human capital. As the setting of empirical model, the major focuses are on how human capital, domestic R&D, and international technological spillovers affect long-run growth rate. And the main conclusion is that the steady-state growth rates depend positively on the stock of human capital, the investment of domestic R&D, and the effects of technological spillovers via FDI whether the absorptive capacity is considered or not. While the results also show that the stock of human capital is a definitive and appropriate index to the absorptive capacity and that Chinese provincial level productivity effects of FDI are strongly confirmed by this paper. However, there are still some hinder in China for the digestion of foreign technologies, thus in the future the authority should put more emphases on increasing human capital stock and stepping up self-innovated ability.

The number of insurance company has grown rapidly in Taiwan due to insurance deregulation since 1992. The main challenge insurance industry face is the declination of profit due to the increasing of competitors. The operator of insurance company is able to face this question and offer the solution, then a company has better solvency. So we explore two issue, one is to investigate the relationship between asset risk and capital adjustment decision in Taiwan¡¦s life insurance industry from 1993 to 2005, and the other is to provide some empirical evidences of retention limit of excess of loss reinsurance in Taiwan¡¦s property insurance industry. In the first issue, a life insurance company is in less risk and has better solvency when it has more capital or higher ratio of capital; however, this also brings higher opportunity cost which means in long run, the average profit will be lower. There is no conclusion how to balance the relationship between capital adjustment and risk taking decision in life insurance industry though this topic is intensively discussed these days. Therefore, with the methodology of panel data threshold regression, we divide life insurance companies into two categories according to ¡§life insurance and annuity insurance premiums to total premiums ratio¡¨. One is life insurance Company of indemnification, and the other is the one of savings. In conclusion, we identify the negative correlation between capital ratio and risk of life insurance company of indemnification and the positive correlation between capital ratio and risk of life insurance company of savings. In the second issue, because of the increase of natural disaster in Taiwan recently, the property insurance company has to face what the reinsurance companies are not willing to underwriter, so excess of loss reinsurance has become the viable solution in Taiwan¡¦s property insurance industry. We apply extreme value theory to the tail of Taiwan property insurance claim for VaR estimation and calculate retention limit of excess of loss reinsurance. The empirical results show that the distribution of Taiwan property insurance claim is fat-tailed. We suggested using Generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD) to model the data with extreme loss and conclude retention limit of excess of loss reinsurance.

Abstract In recent years, many empirical analyses of cross countries point out physical capital stock and human capital stock that can only explain partial cause of income inequality. Therefore, economists attempt to add multiple interpreted variables, trying to illustrate economic growth which physical capital and human capital can¡¦t expound. Generally speaking, growth theory common was applied different growth assay of cross countries, but lacking empirical researches of single country. Income inequality is the important issue of national economy, including difference between town and country bring about problems of financial distribution, and unbalance of labor market cause mishap of high unemployment rates, consequently, it becomes interesting subject that how to blend state output in single country. The issue is more cared for United State that possessing enormous economic influence. Due to corporeal and incorporeal capital can free mobile, one must ponder on more detailed elements to measure national proceeds. According to reports of national policy indicate that development of information technology (IT) and internet were one of important factors to form the longest expansion in the postwar period that lasted 111 months from March 1991 to June 2000, large number of immigrants that could satisfy labor demand of IT property, and consumed productions of market supply. For this reason, one consider to measure U.S. output not only confer the effects of accumulation of physical capital and human capital, but also contain contributions of immigrants. To analyze economic implications in three models, one can summarize four conclusions: First point: physical capital and human capital of effective labor provide with significantly positive effect for economic growth rates of U.S. states in 1991 to 1999. Physical capital of effective labor shows that decreasing influence on economic growth of cross states, the magnitude of estimate coefficient are reducing from 0.0783, 0.0638, to 0.0169, demonstrating that play a role of necessary yet a main input factor. Opposite to physical capital, human capital of effective labor present increasing condition which from 0.4568 to 1.1052, displaying it¡¦s outstanding for economic growth of U.S. Furthermore, we also find a phenomenon that speed of convergence ( ) enlarge huger (from 0.0165 to 0.0183), it imply that value of is diminishing (from 0.0853 to 0.0447). In other words, economies that want to approach state-steady can¡¦t only depend on increasing of accumulation of physical capital, but quality of human and level of technology also simultaneously promote. Second point: More immigrants will move up to economic growth of cross states. Because immigrants have lofty knowledge and skill, an aspect they can through spillover effect to local, increasing accumulation of human capital, another aspect that can raise local productivity to advance economic growth. Third point: Although term of is random coefficient of cross states in models, it¡¦s purport that comprise different geographical location, endowment of resource and institution etc. in every states, hence, when we can think about more component of (for instant, adding immigrants) to improve and develop it, than economic growth will reveal significant and positive beneficial result. Fourth point: Lower adjusted may be that one don¡¦t look upon puzzle of business cycle, therefore, one proceed time serious analysis of single country and directly estimate production function that could meet up perplexity of calculation (Romer, 1987), in other words, when effects of business cycle of economic variables dominate change of some variables for contributing economic growth that will make estimation to convert into inefficient. Synthesizing the above-mentioned consequences, one find that U.S. can establish forceful economic status except for accumulation of physical capital and human capital, it¡¦s more important that immigrants guide robust effect on economic dimension of host country. Such example that can be gather from national policy of Singapore. Consequently, one suggest that nation pay much attention to immigrants will intensify economic growth rates and international competition of nation, and accumulation of ¡§human¡¨ capital will be a key-point that determinate force of national competition.

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Abstract Taiwan's stock market have always been ex-dividend Performance , in essence, to participate in ex-dividend will not increase wealth, but investors are usually regarded as dividends paid by companies operating in the future of the expected. Ex-dividend will to come into notice of investor. We collection from 1999 to 2007, total of nine-year period. The ex-dividend day stock prices analysis in Taiwan 50 index stocks. We use market model of Event Study, and respectively studies by OLS¡BGARCH and SUR model, it's estimated that the abnormal return (AR), this paper to discuss ex-dividend performance of the Taiwan50 index stocks. We to join may cause abnormal return of variables to Panel data regression analysis model, the certification may cause abnormal return of factors.