Overconfident Individual Day Traders: Evidence from the Taiwan Futures Market

A specific day-trading policy in Taiwan futures market allows an investigation of the performance of day traders. Since October 2007, investors who characterize themselves as “day traders” by closing their day-trade positions on the same day enjoy a 50% reduction in the initial margin. Because we can identify day traders ex ante, we have a laboratory to explore trading behavior without the contamination of potential behavioral biases. Our results show that the 3470 individual day traders in the sample incur on average a significant loss of 61,500 (26,700) New Taiwan dollars after (before) transaction costs over October 2007–September 2008. This implies that day traders are not only overconfident about the accuracy of their information but also biased in their interpretations of information. We also find that excessive trading is hazardous only to the overconfident losers, but not to the winners. Last, we provide evidence that more experienced individual investors exhibit more aggressive day trading behavior, although they do not learn their types or gain superior trading skills that could mitigate their losses.postprin

Cross-cultural validation of models of approaches to learning: An application of confirmatory factor analysis

Six structural equation models were tested by analysing responses to the Learning Process Questionnaire of 10 samples of primary and secondary school students from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Malaysia, Beijing, Hong Kong and Canada. Confirmatory factor analyses provided general support for the cross-cultural within-construct validity of the questionnaire. As predicted, the dimensions of deep and surface approaches to learning received cross-cultural support, but the positioning of the achieving dimension varied across cultures. This is in line with the notion that students who adopt an achieving approach will adopt different strategies which will be likely to maximise their achievement according to particular course and teacher characteristics.published_or_final_versio

A cross-cultural investigation into students' evaluation of university teaching

This study uses the applicability paradigm of Marsh (1981) to examine the validity of two evaluation instruments and their underlying model of teaching effectiveness across seven countries with diverse cultures and higher education systems. The results from the seven studies support the reliability, appropriateness, and to some degree convergent and discriminant validities of the two instruments. Similar patterns of item salience and discrimination between good and poor lecturers are also obtained. Hence, the similarity of the results from diverse academic settings generally lends support to the applicability and the cross-cultural validity of these two instruments and their underlying model of teaching. In addition, the finding that Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China are each relatively more similar to the West than among themselves may reflect the fact that their higher education systems are to a certain extent modeled after those of the West.published_or_final_versio

Cognitive Limitation and Investment Performance: Evidence from Limit Order Clustering

We hypothesize that cognitive limitation may be manifested in a disproportionately large volume of limit orders submitted at round-number prices if investors use these numbers as cognitive shortcuts. Using detailed limit order data in the Taiwan Futures Exchange, we find that investors with lower cognitive abilities, defined as higher limit order submission ratios at round numbers, suffer greater losses in their round-numbered and non-round-numbered limit orders, market orders, and round-trip trades. The positive correlation between cognitive ability and investment performance is monotonic and robust across futures and options markets. In addition, past trading experience helps to mitigate the cognitive limitation.postprin

Improving the energy efficiency of room air conditioners in China: Costs and benefits

China is the world's largest consumer of room air conditioners, and it contributes about a quarter of global space cooling CO2 emissions. We model the costs and benefits of recently proposed new room air conditioner minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) in China. Our results suggest that newly proposed MEPS brings accumulative CO2 emissions reductions of 12.8% between 2019 and 2050, and accumulative bill saving of 2620 billion RMB to China's consumers. The benefits of the proposed MEPS decrease with longer MEPS revision intervals and increase with shorter intervals—indicating that the intervals should be balanced to maximize benefits while accommodating constraints due to air conditioner manufacturer design cycles. We also model potential nationwide benefits from higher MEPS. Across two increasingly aggressive MEPS scenarios, China's room air conditioner electricity consumption and CO2 emissions in 2050 are both reduced by 15–53% compared to the proposed MEPS. The highest-efficiency scenario (reaching MEPS of annual performance factor 5.4 in 2025) provides the largest long-term national benefits. These results could inform development of a Chinese regulatory regime that effectively updates room air conditioner MEPS. Because China is the world's largest manufacturer of room air conditioners, the economic, energy, and emissions benefits resulting from higher Chinese MEPS could also have a global reach

Experimental study of failure behavior of disturbed zone around an opening in non-persistent jointed rock masses

2003-2004 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Betel nut chewing is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in Taiwanese men

[[abstract]]Background: Betel nut chewing is related to several kinds of cancer, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. Whether it is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality, however, remains unclear. Objective: We aimed to investigate the association between betel nut chewing and CVD and all-cause mortality. Design: A baseline cohort of 56 116 male participants >= 20 y old were recruited from 4 nationwide health screening centers in Taiwan in 1998 and 1999. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to estimate the relative risks (RRs) of CVD and all-cause mortality for betel nut chewers during an 8-y follow-up period. Results: There were 1549 deaths during the follow-up period, 309 of which were due to CVD. After adjustment for age, body mass index, diabetes, hypertension, lipids, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, income, and education level, the RRs (95% CI) of CVD and all-cause mortality among the former betel nut chewers were 1.56 (1.02, 2.38) and 1.40 (1.17, 1.68), respectively, and those among current chewers were 2.02 (1.31, 3.13) and 1.40 (1.16, 1.70), respectively, compared with persons who had never chewed betel quid. Current and former betel nut chewers had a higher risk of CVD mortality (RR: 2.10; P < 0.05) than did current and former smokers. Greater frequency of betel nut chewing was associated with greater CVD and all-cause mortality. Conclusions: Betel nut chewing was independently associated with a greater risk of CVD and all-cause mortality in Taiwanese men. Regular screening for betel nut chewing history may help prevent excess deaths in the future. An anti-betel nut chewing program is urgently warranted for current chewers

Betel Nut Chewing Is Strongly Associated With General and Central Obesity in Chinese Male Middle-aged Adults

[[abstract]]Betel nut chewing has been reported to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. The reason is unclear. In this study, we investigated the association between betel nut chewing and general obesity (BMI >= 25 kg/m(2)) and central obesity (waist circumference (WC) >= 90 cm). A total of 1,049 male subjects, aged >= 40 years, were recruited from Taichung city in Taiwan in 2004. The relationships between betel nut chewing and general and central obesity were studied by multiple linear and logistic regression analyses. The prevalence of current and former betel nut chewing was 7.0 and 10.5% in our male Taiwanese cohort. Current/former betel nut chewers had a higher prevalence of general and central obesity when compared with individuals who had never chewed betel nut. Adjusted for age, diabetes, hypertension, lipids, smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, income, and education level, the odds ratios (ORs; 95% confidence intervals) of general and central obesity among the lower consumption of betel nut chewers were 1.78 (1.07, 2.96) and 1.19 (0.70, 2.02), respectively, compared to 2.01 (1.18, 3.41) and 1.89 (1.10, 3.23), respectively, among higher consumption chewers compared to individuals who had never chewed betel nut. The increasing ORs of general and central obesity with higher betel nut consumption revealed dose-response effects. Using multiple linear regression analyses, after adjusting for potential confounders, betel nut consumption was statistically significantly associated with BMI and WC. In conclusion, betel nut chewing was independently associated with general and central obesity in Taiwanese men. Dose-response effects of the association between betel nut consumption and general obesity as well as central obesity were found

In addition to insulin resistance and obesity, hyperuricemia is strongly associated with metabolic syndrome using different definitions in Chinese populations: a population-based study ( Taichung Community Health Study)

[[abstract]]Hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome (MetS) have been shown to increase the risk of hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and increase the risk of total and CVD mortality.1 2 Insulin resistance (IR) and central obesity have been recognised as the common underlying mechanism.3 4 The association between hyperuricemia and MetS has been studied, but most of these studies focused on Caucasians.5 In this study, we examined this relationship using five different definitions (proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the National Cholesterol Education Program Third Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP-ATPIII), the modified NCEP-ATPIII, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), and the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (AHA/NHLBI)) in Taiwan