| dc.description.abstract | Taiwan is surrounded by the sea and influenced by its geographical location, experiencing different air masses and monsoons throughout the year. According to the Central Weather Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation, Taiwan′s average annual rainfall in 2021 was 1997.4 millimeters, which is more than twice the world average annual precipitation. The abundant rainfall leads to high relative humidity, which can have negative effects on people′s quality of life, both physically and materially. To alleviate the discomfort caused by high humidity, people can choose to purchase dehumidifiers, which are considered one of the important large pieces of furniture in Taiwan. However, there is limited literature exploring dehumidifiers. This study aims to investigate which household factors affect the ownership of dehumidifiers and to explore which attributes or features affect the price of dehumidifiers using a semi-logarithmic hedonic pricing model.
Logistic regression is used to analyze the ownership of dehumidifiers using household income and expenditure survey data provided by the Academia Sinica from 2018 to 2021. The empirical results show that the gender of the head of household, the number of household members aged 65 and over, and the floor area of the house have a significant negative correlation with the ownership of dehumidifiers. On the other hand, the age, education level, total income, number of household members, and residential location of the head of household have a significant positive correlation with the ownership of dehumidifiers.
Using a semi-logarithmic price model to measure and analyze dehumidifier prices, data on prices and attributes or features of dehumidifiers were collected from Taiwan′s online shopping websites (momo shopping network and PChome24 shopping network) and various brand websites. The data were collected from September to December 2022, and there were 187 observations. The empirical results showed that, before controlling for brand, the warranty, weight, water tank capacity, dehumidifying capacity per kilowatt, negative ion purification, and PM2.5 filtering functions were significantly positively correlated with dehumidifier prices, while the country of origin and energy efficiency rating were significantly negatively correlated with dehumidifier prices. After controlling for brand, most of the significant levels and symbols of explanatory variables were the same as those before controlling for brand, except for the warranty and country of origin. Although the warranty and country of origin still have an impact on dehumidifier prices, their influence is no longer significant. | en_US |