PEPP Seminar: “COVID-19 Outbreak and Voluntary Demand for Non-COVID-19 Healthcare: Evidence from Taiwan”
2020/12/17
PEPP Seminar: “COVID-19 Outbreak and Voluntary Demand for Non-COVID-19 Healthcare: Evidence from Taiwan”
Lecturer: Dr. Yang, Tzu-Ting Assistant Research Fellow, Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, Taiwan
Date: Tuesday, December 22nd, 2020 Time: 16:00～18:00 (Japan Time)
Venue: Online (Zoom) Zoom Link (prior registration required): https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwqduugrD8rGdZ5sx_14vYZYfWid3XJDhZN
Abstract:
This paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on voluntary demand for Non-COVID-19 healthcare. We use 2014-2020 weekly county-level data from Taiwan National Health Insurance alongside a difference-in-differences design. Our results indicate that even if there are no government restrictions on human mobility, people spontaneously reduce their demand for healthcare due to fears of infection or improved health status. On average, the number of outpatient visits (inpatient admissions) decreased by 18% (9%) after the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, the demand response of healthcare for infectious diseases (e.g. flu) is much greater and more persistent than for other diseases, suggesting that the substantial decline in healthcare use is induced by positive public-health externality of prevention measures for COVID-19.
