Survival Analysis for Unobserved Heterogeneity on Estimated Mortality in Taiwan

Abstract

The purpose of this study provides evidences on the effects of unobserved heterogeneity on estimated mortality among the middle aged and elderly in Taiwan. The data used is from the Survey of Health and Living Status of the Middle Aged and Elderly in Taiwan (aged 50 to 66), and the mortality information was linked to 1996-2003 national death registry data. The Weibull models are used to estimate the effects of unobserved heterogeneity on mortality. Main empirical results confirm that, after considering unobserved heterogeneity, most estimated coefficients on the mortality regressors are larger in magnitude that the corresponding coefficients in the reference model. Especially, the terms of health care utilization have larger unobserved heterogenity on estimated mortality. Therefore, if the government policies can concern more unobserved heterogenity of health care utilization that might useful to decrease the mortality for the elderly.