國
立
交
通
大
學
管理科學系
博 士 論 文
N0. 047
樂觀的性別差異—雅虎奇摩財經新聞民調的證據
Gender Difference in Optimism- Evidence from Yahoo! Kimo
Taiwan’s Business Poll Center
研 究 生：張玲玲
指導教授：李經遠 教授
國
立
交
通
大
學
管理科學系
博 士 論 文
N0. 047
樂觀態度性別差異－雅虎奇摩財經新聞民調的證據
Gender Difference in Optimism- Evidence from Yahoo! Kimo
Taiwan’s Business Poll Center
研 究 生：張玲玲
研究指導委員會：黃仁宏 教授
蔡彥卿 教授
李經遠 教授
指導教授：李經遠 教授
樂觀態度性別差異—雅虎奇摩財經新聞民調的證據
Gender Difference in Optimism- Evidence from
Yahoo! Kimo Taiwan’s Business Poll Center
研 究 生：張玲玲
Student：Ling-Ling Chang
指導教授：李經遠
Advisor：Gin-Yuan Lee
國 立 交 通 大 學
管 理 科 學 系
博 士 論 文
A ThesisSubmitted to Department of Management Science College of Management
National Chiao Tung University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
In
Management
November 2009
Hsin-Chu, Taiwan, Republic of China
樂觀態度性別差異—奇摩網站財經新聞民調的證據
研究生：張玲玲
指導教授
：李經遠
國立交通大學管理科學系博士班
摘 要 社會情緒(social mood)會影響個人情緒及其對財務風險的看法，進而影響風險決策 的選擇，過去女性在財務相關決策上被認為比男性更規避風險(risk averse)、自信程度較 低且較悲觀。本研究以奇摩網站財經新聞的民調中心資料進行樂觀態度性別差異研究， 發現在社會情緒悲觀時，女性比男性更悲觀，而社會情緒樂觀時則視投資標的是否為股 票而定。本研究發現社會情緒若悲觀則女性比男性更悲觀，而社會情緒樂觀下，與股市 有關議題女性也呈現較悲觀，與前人研究結論相同（Jacobsen, Lee, & Marquering, 2008）。但若非股市相關議題，則社會情緒樂觀，女性比男性更樂觀。
Gender difference in Optimism- evidence from
Yahoo! Kimo Taiwan’s Business News Poll Centre
Student：Ling-Ling Chang Advisor：Gin-Yuan Lee
Department of Management Science
National Chiao Tung University
ABSTRACT
“Social Mood” is one factor that affects people’s emotions and their perspectives in risk
management, which then impact their final decisions on actual investments. It is believed that
women, in general, are more risk aversive, pessimistic and have lower confidence than men.
This study investigated the optimism level difference between women and men using data
from Yahoo! Kimo Taiwan’s Business News Poll Centre. It is proven in this study that
social mood does have significant effects on individual’s emotional responses. Women
respond more pessimistically than men when the social mood is pessimistic; if the social
mood is optimistic, women also respond more pessimistically than men on stock-related
topics. These finding are consistent with Jacobsen, Lee, & Marquering (2008) experiment.
However, women respond more optimistically on non-stock related topics when the social
mood is optimistic, which are inconsistent with previous evidence.
誌謝
本論文得以順利完成首須感謝張保隆老師、黃仁宏老師、楊千老師、蔡彥卿老師及 李經遠老師的寶貴意見，使本論文更臻嚴謹與完善。 博士班的入學與求學過程有太多要感謝的人，回首一路走來的路上，老師們的溫暖 與提攜讓我終生難忘－黃仁宏老師溫文儒雅的風範與鼓勵、許和鈞老師的真誠熱情、謝 國文老師的認真指導與不倦教誨、楊千老師的智慧與寬容，王耀德老師的溫柔協助，李 經遠老師的良善與敦厚、蔡彥卿老師的無私與治學嚴謹的態度….，點點滴滴讓學生難 以忘懷，真幸運讓我遇上了這麼多貴人與高人，才能讓我順利入學、快樂又感激的求學。 對於管科所和交大，一直有著深厚的情感，身為交大管科所的學生，心中深覺幸運又幸 福，更感謝上天對我的厚愛；對於台大更有無盡的感激，雖非台大的註冊學生，但老師 仍不吝指導與教誨並無私的分享經驗。 求學過程中可用驚險刺激來形容，繁重的課業壓力、難度頗高的資格考，投稿國外 期刊的歷程，讓我又累又怕－擔心學科、擔心資格考、擔心論文投稿，求學以來，博士 生涯最難捱，所幸老師們的鼓勵與經驗分享，同學的感情互相支持－特別是彬彬及學長 俊閎，一路走來加油聲不絕。 五年多來最常被我忽略的家人，總是在背後默默的支持我、成就我－年邁的雙親總 忘記我已長大而依舊呵護備至，盡心照料家庭的先生讓我心無旁騖的專心學業，而提早 學會不吵媽媽看書的小女，總是在我又睏又累時送上她親手完成的小禮物幫我打氣，並 告訴我她有多愛我。 我的環境充滿著愛，老師、同學、家人，都以他們愛交織成一張愛的氛圍網－協助Table of Contents
摘 要 ... i ABSTRACT ... ii 致謝 ... iii Table of Contents ... iv List of Tables ... v 1. Introduction ... 1 2. Literature Review ... 72.1 Gender difference in risk aversion ... 7
2.2 Gender difference in confidence ... 8
2.3 Gender differences in information processing ... 12
2.4 Association between risk and emotion ... 14
3. Research method ... 18
3.1 Data source ... 18
3.2 Selection of the research problem and explanation of investigation topic and social mood ... 19
3.3 Data coding method and testing methods ... 37
4. Research Results ... 39
5. Conclusions and suggestions ... 56
Reference ... 59
Appendix Investigation Questions ... 66
List of Tables
Table 1 Summary of Investigation question, period and social mood ... 36
Table 2 Number and gender of participants ... 39
Table 3 Cross table of Question 1: “After the political turbulence in September 2006, would you anticipate Taiwan’s stock market to rise or fall?” ... 41
Table 4 Cross table of Question 2: “What do you think of the real estate business in 2007 as compared to 2006?” ... 42
Table 5 Cross table of Question 3: “Will Taiwan’s stock market break the 10,000-point threshold?” ... 43
Table 6 Cross table of Question 4: “Should the government liberalize investment to mainland China?” ... 44
Table 7 Cross table of Question 5: “After the presidential election, will you invest in Taiwanese stocks (or Taiwanese funds)?” ... 45
Table 8 Cross table of Question 6: “Do you want mainland investors to invest in Taiwan Stock Market?” ... 46
Table 9 Cross table of Question 7: “With high inflationary pressure and steep falls in Taiwan Stock Market, what do you think?” ... 47
Table 10 Cross table of Question 8: “Do you think the price of oil will rise to $200 per barrel before the end of the year?” ... 48
Table 11 Cross table of Question 9: “Are you worried that labor insurance finances are unstable and that you won’t be able to receive old age payments?” ... 49
Table 12 Cross table of Question 10: “Do you believe that this stock market disaster will follow in the footsteps of the Great Depression in the
Table 14 Cross table of Question 12: “Do you think that gold prices will continue to rise in the future?” ... 52
1. Introduction
Gender differences have become an important issue in social sciences research. As
the social status of women rises with higher education and disposable income, their
behavior as consumers and investors is becoming more valued. Consequently, studies
done on gender differences have become more popular. Previous studies on gender
differences in investment or financial issues have focused on whether females are more
risk aversive than men, on differences in investment strategy confidence, and differences
in information processing in the decision-making process. In the past, studies done on
gender differences in investments and financial issues have mostly indicated that women
are more risk aversive than men; investments with lower risks involved were often
preferred by women (Bajtelsmit, Bernasek, & Jianakopolos, 1999; Bernasek & Shwiff,
2001; Bajtelsmit & VanDerhei, 1997; Jianakoplos & Bernasek, 1998; Schubert, 2006;
Sunden & Surette, 1998), while males have more confidence in investment decisions.
When it comes to decision making, women tend to put more factors into consideration
than men do before taking any action (Chung & Monroe, 2001; Graham, J., Stendardi,
Myers, & Graham M., 2002).
emotional reactions are generally considered to be the primary factors in irrationality
(Maital, Filer, & Simon, 1986; Shefrin, 2001). Previous research has generally concluded
that males appear to be more confident than females, even to the point of overconfidence
(Barber & Odean, 2001). Scholars have proposed reasons such as that risk attitudes are
impacted by the social role played by the individual in question. Other scholars have
suggested that the confidence of females is determined by the certainty of decision results;
more uncertain results lead to less confidence in females.
Other scholars have suggested that the comparatively risk-averse decisions made by
females may not be the result of differences in risk attitudes, but may instead be caused
by differences in information processing. Females tend to process broad amounts of
information and will incorporate uncertain cue information, thereby exhibiting risk
aversion. Males tend towards simplified heuristics in the decision-making process and are
more prone to be more careless in accepting information; females will make detailed
considerations of all usable clues. Scholars suggest that females will use all available
clues and information and are more suited to the processing of broad information; they
also have more positive evaluations of uncertain information, so it appears that women
are more risk-averse than are men.
difference towards risk are caused by emotional fluctuation. People are more optimistic
when they are in good moods and are more pessimistic when they are in bad moods;
consequently, moods may influence the probability of individuals investing in risky
assets. Schubert (2006) noted that risk assessment and behaviors are typically impacted
by cognitive and emotional responses, and emotional responses typically have a stronger
impact on attitude and behavior than do cognitive responses. Consequently, the mood of
a decision-maker and the time of decision will have an impact on decision selection.
Mood is affected by the state of the economy, unemployment rate, and inflation, which
can affect individuals’ decisions on purchases and investments. Nofsinger (2005)
suggested that social mood is a strong factor in decision making for the investors,
controlling the atmosphere of financial and economic activities. If there is a high degree
of optimism in a society, then more optimistic investors will be produced, which will
influence the views of decision-makers on risk and uncertainty. Consequently, many
investors will purchase stocks and more companies will become publicly traded, leading
to excessive market transactions. If social emotions become excessively high, extreme
overconfidence and excitement will lead to the bursting of the market bubble. As such,
trading volume or market activities. (Mitchell & Mulherin, 1994； Antweiler & Frank,
2004) Jocobsen, Lee and Marquering (2008) studied the optimism levels of men and
women by using consumer confidence data of 18 different country, they reported men are
strikingly more optimistic than women about the future performance of key economic
and financial indicators. . They suggested the severity of risk aversion may be influenced
by the differences in optimism level between men and women. The consumer confidence
index is a direct investigation, involving random sampling and the use of set questions to
track changes in consumer confidence; the consumer confidence index has the advantage
of directly exploring the intentions of people involved. However, sampling subjects may
not have considered economic problems in depth, and set questions make it more difficult
for respondents to express their views on economic incidents occurring at the time of
investigation.
This study emphasizes the confirmation of whether females are more pessimistic
than males with regard to expectations of specific economic incidents and, when
influenced by social emotions, whether there are differences in the optimism or
pessimism of males and females towards specific economic incidents. The data in this
study was obtained from the most popular investment portal site in Taiwan – Yahoo!
Kimo Taiwan Business News Poll Centre. Data was collected from June 2006 to the 1st
study was to identify the difference in reactions between men and women for positive and
negative financial events.
Yahoo! Kimo Taiwan is a popular portal site with a significant number of voting
users. Finance-related discussions were particularly popular at the time of data collection;
numerous “optimistic and pessimistic contexts” were included in the study. The
advantages of using data collected from Yahoo! Kimo Taiwan included: realistic
financial issue discussion, close connection to daily experience, voters were frequent
internet users that paid attention on financial news with social mood being somehow
affected by media and internet news, large quantity of samples, and people who voted
were the ones that had thought about the topics and issues already. Data collected from
the aforementioned samples are very valuable in terms of testing whether women possess
a more pessimistic view on certain financial events than men. Results supported the
hypothesis and are consistent with the results from Jacobsen’s (2008) study, showing that
women are indeed more pessimistic than men when the social mood is gloomy. However,
when social emotion is optimistic, the responses of both genders are determined by the
target investment. If the investment target is stocks, then female investors exhibit more
conclusions of previous research which suggest than women are more pessimistic than
men.
Results of this study show the difference in attitude between men and women on
financial topics, which come from the analysis of data from subjective internet surveys.
The results also explain why women are more conservative in financial and investment
decisions, which can serve as a reference to policy makers and the business world.
However, because the sample consisted of internet users, there may be limitations due to
generalization of the results. The following paragraphs of this paper are arranged as
follows: examines relevant literature, describes the research method, compiles the results
obtained from research, and the final chapter discusses results and provides suggestions
2. Literature Review
2.1 Gender difference in risk aversion
In general, females are said to be more apt than men to choose low-risk cases in the
face of risk decisions, preferring to make more conservative investment decisions and
exhibiting greater risk aversion. Previous research conclusions have also generally
supported the notion that females are more risk-averse than men and that they prefer
lower-risk investment portfolios (Bajtelsmit, Bernasek, & Jianakopolos, 1999; Bernasek
& Shwiff, 2001; Bajtelsmit & VanDerhei, 1997; Jianakoplos & Bernasek, 1998; Schubert,
2006; Sunden & Surette, 1998).
Bernasek and Shwiff (2001) collected detailed data on the family decisions of
faculty and administrators from five universities in the state of Colorado and used this
data to analyze the asset allocations of individual defined contribution plans. They found
that females included significantly fewer stocks in their retirement portfolios than did
males, supporting the argument that females are more risk-averse.
Jianakoplos and Bernasek (1998) used the 1989 Survey of Consumer Finances and
the theoretical framework developed by Friend and Blume (1975) to establish an index
Bajtelsmit et al. (1999) also used the 1989 Survey of Consumer Finances to test for
gender differences in the financial risk chosen in contribution retirement plans; their
results showed that women are more risk-averse than men.
Bajtelsmit and VanDerhei (1997) used a database of employee retirement funds and
population characteristics to test for the distribution of individual characteristics and
retirement funds. Their results showed that females prefer to invest in fixed-return
securities and also prefer more conservative investment strategies.
The research results of the scholars described above show that female investors tend
to prefer conservative or lower-risk investment portfolios. Consequently, this paper
hypothesizes that if the risk aversion of female investors is higher than that of males,
females should also be more pessimistic towards economic incidents than males.
2.2 Gender difference in confidence
In uncertain situations, decision-making is subject to the influence of many irrational
emotional factors (Kehnemen & Tversky, 1979). Gender, age, personality characteristics,
sources and interpretation of information, external stimuli, and emotional responses are
considered to be the primary factors in irrationality (Maital, Filer, & Simon, 1986；
Shefrin, 2001). Overconfidence refers to the excessive belief in the correctness of one’s
information, expert knowledge, and judgment that one possesses, leading to
underestimation of the potential risks and overestimation of one’s control (Shefrin and
Statman, 1994). Lichtenstein, Fischohoff and Phillips (1977, 1982) noted in research on
psychological behaviors in human decision-making that people tend to overestimate their
own powers of judgment, suggesting that the majority of people exhibit psychological
overconfidence. DeBondt and Thaler (1985) asserted that overconfidence will increase
the heterogeneity of information. This heterogeneity is the result of selective acceptance
of information based on one’s own experience principles–selectively discarding
undesired information, leading to the ignoring of potential risk. Daniel, Hirshleifer and
Subrahmanyam (1998) further suggested that overconfident investors will overemphasize
the accuracy of the information they have collected in the course of information
processing, and that they selectively believe information supporting their own past
investment decisions and that they ignore information not supporting their past
investment decisions, thereby maintaining their own confidence and self-esteem. Shefrin
and Statman (1985) introduced the “Disposition Effect,” which suggests that investors
tend to hold losing stocks and sell profitable stocks in order to avoid regret, because
that the stock will rise in price in the future. Consequently, investors will hold losing
stocks in anticipation of potentially compensating for losses. Odean (1998) noted that
overconfidence in investors will typically lead to early realization of the profitable
portions of investment portfolios and the holding of losing portions, meaning that
overconfident investors will realize profits immediately and put off losses until later.
Such actions help investors to feel that the amount of their correct decisions exceeds the
amount of incorrect decisions, strengthening self-evaluations.
Previous conclusions drawn by research on gender differences in overconfidence
have supported the idea that males appear more confident or overconfident than females
in investment decisions (Barber and Odean, 2001). Potential reasons suggested by
scholars include that personal risk attitudes and personalities are influenced by the social
role played (Voelz, 1985). Consequently, when making risk decisions, males appear more
confident or overconfident compared to females. Scholars have also suggested that
gender differences in self-confidence are derived from the certainty or uncertainty of
decision results; females appear to be less confident when decisions are less certain
(Lenney, 1977).
Evidence suggesting overconfidence in men includes that presented by Odean
portfolios than other investors in identical situations of risk and that higher transaction
frequencies also result. The overconfidence hypothesis suggests that if investors are
overconfident, then profit will be accompanied by more proactive transaction behaviors.
Barber, Odean and Zheng (2000) found in testing the overconfidence model that males
are more prone to overconfidence than females. Overconfident investors perform
transactions with excessive frequencies, leading to losses in net returns; research results
did show that the net returns of males are lower than those of females after adjusting for
risk. Barber and Odean (2001) performed research after separating data on 35,000
accounts in a brokerage firm offering large sum discounts; their results showed that males
perform a greater number of transactions, suggesting that males are significantly more
prone to overconfidence than females.
Lenney (1977) asserted that gender differences in confidence are the result of
certainty (or uncertainty) in decision results. When results are uncertain or unclear,
females seem to be more prone to underestimating their own capabilities; conversely,
when the results of decisions are clear and immediate, the confidence of females appears
to be no different from that of males. The results of decisions on the stock market are
It can be seen from the inferences described above that males appear more confident
and willing to invest in riskier investment decision targets or appear to have more
optimistic attitudes due to expectations of social roles even though they are uncertain of
the decision results.
2.3 Gender differences in information processing
Due to uncertainties in decision situations and limitations in information processing
cognitive abilities, actual decision making processes pursue “satisfactory” decision
results rather than “optimal” decision results. There is more of a tendency to use rules of
thumb rather than objective probabilities in making judgments when processing large
amounts of information (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979); decision makers evaluate the
frequency or probability of an event based on representative heuristics or available
heuristics. Meyers-Levey (1986) developed a selectivity model to test for gender
differences in information processing and proposed that males tend to use simple
heuristics in the decision making process more than females do and are also more prone
to roughly accept external information and selectively perform information processing;
females will perform detailed consideration of all usable clues prior to decision making.
Consequently, the researchers concluded that females have more of a tendency to use all
available clues and information and are adept at processing broad amounts of information.
linking a selectivity model and examination of literature on investment decisions,
Graham, J., Stendardi, Myers, & Graham M. (2002) proposed that women may make
more risk-averse decisions not because of differences in risk aversion, but rather because
of differences in information processing. Women tend to process broader information and
include uncertain clue information, thereby appearing risk averse.
Evidence from empirical research includes a study by Chung and Monroe (1998),
who studied gender differences in information processing based on information auditing
methods of accounting students. The study found that females use information more
broadly than do males and appear to have higher evaluations for uncertain information.
O'Donnell and Johnson (2001) performed research on gender differences in the
information usage of employees of auditing firms, and found that significant interaction
occurs between task complexity and gender. These results show that males are more
efficient at information processing in low-complexity tasks, while females seem to be
more efficient at processing information in high-complexity tasks. These results show
that females are more adept than males at processing broad and complex information.
Burke (2001) found that gender differences in information processing are more
emphasize broad information sources, while there are no gender differences in the
information processing methods in partner-level and other high-level employees.
It can be seen that differences in attitudes towards risk arise due to different
information processing methods in males and females. Females take into account more
uncertain information and so appear more risk-averse than males.
2.4 Association between risk and emotion
In general, expectations towards risk are reflected by cognitive evaluations of risk as
expressed through emotion. Loewenstein, Weber, Hsee, & Welch (2001) noted that
gender differences in risk attitudes are caused by emotional variables. People are more
optimistic in their views when they are in good moods and are more pessimistic when
they are in bad moods. Consequently, emotions may impact the probability of individuals
investing in risky assets. Schubert (2006) noted that, in general, risk assessment and
behavior are subject to the influence of cognitive and emotional responses; the influence
of emotional responses typically has a greater impact on attitudes and behavior. As a
result, the mood of the decision maker and the decision time at the time of the decision
will impact choices made in a decision. Emotions are easily influenced by factors such as
economic trends, unemployment rate, and inflation, and may change personal
consumption and financial decisions. Elster (1998) noted that happy people are more
Discouragement and risk aversion are directly correlated and increase the correlation
between worry and risk aversion. Pretty, Gleicher and Baker (1991) found that
individuals often make more detailed analysis and critical evaluations when they are in
bad moods. Forgas (1995) asserted that, according to the “Affect Infusion Model,”
positive emotions can increase risk tolerance, while negative emotions will reduce risk
tolerance. Individuals in good moods focus on positive information in their environments,
while individuals in bad moods will focus attention on negative characteristics. The
influence of emotions on decisions increases as situations become increasingly complex
and uncertain. Grable and Roszkowski (2008) found that happy emotions will raise
financial risk tolerance. Wurgler (2002) emphasized that links between investor
psychology and actual economic situations are necessary, and that media messages have
an impact on securities markets activities when economic events occur (Antweiler &
Frank, 2004), and that decision makers tend towards making judgments based on
conveniently obtainable information (such as events that recently occurred), which
become bases for decision-making due to deep impressions, during decision-making due
to available heuristics. Clarke and Statman (1998) found that short-term high returns in
nervousness more strongly than do males. Females are less sensitive to probabilities of
favorable circumstances than men and are more pessimistic towards gains. Consequently,
if the probabilities for favorable circumstances increase, females will not necessarily alter
their original selections; this phenomenon is referred to as risk aversion and also referred
to as pessimism. Fehr, Epper, Bruhin and Schubert (2007), however, found that females
make optimistic subjective probability appraisals in experiments regardless of favorable
or unfavorable circumstances when they are in good moods. In other words, females are
easily affected by good moods, while males are unaffected by good moods. The sum of
personal emotions forms social mood. Nofsinger (2005) once noted that individuals’
decisions, rather than being made independently and in isolation from society, are
determined by interactions between individuals and the social environment. As a result of
Nofsinger just mentioned “the level of social mood affects the economy because
participants interact”. Consequently, optimism and pessimism of the social mood will
affect the decisions of financial investors. Consequently, social mood directs the
atmosphere of financial and economic activities. When a high degree of optimism exists
in social mood, more optimistic investors are produced, which will affect the views of
decision-makers towards risk and uncertainty. Consequently, many investors will enter
the stock market, purchasing more stocks and public listings, leading company managers
and acquisition activities. If social mood becomes excessively high, extreme
self-confidence and excitement will lead to the bursting of the stock market bubble.
However, because not all financial decisions can be rapidly completed (for example,
Initial Public Offering or performing optimistic and active asset budgeting require time to
complete), so when social mood improves, many mergers and acquisition activities,
company public listings, and asset expenditures are completed only after a delay of a
number of months. By contrast, decisions to invest in asset markets can be executed
almost immediately, so the impact of social mood on stock markets is very strong;
consequently, the stock market itself is an excellent index for measuring social mood.
Jocobsen, Lee and Marquering (2008) once used the consumer confidence indices of 18
countries to perform research on gender differences in optimism and reached the
conclusion that males are more optimistic than females, and noted that risk aversion may
be influenced by gender differences in optimism. Social mood will influence the
optimism and views on risk of investors, thereby influencing investment decisions as a
whole. In general, females have stronger responses to fear and nervousness. When they
are impacted by negative social mood, females are more prone to adopting conservative
3. Research method
3.1 Data sourceThe study was based on data from surveys done on financial issues and topics from
the Yahoo! Kimo Business News Survey Centre. Testing was performed to observe if
there were differences in the optimistic and pessimistic reactions of males and females
when facing optimistic economic events and negative economic events.
The advantage of the data used in this study is that the financial issues are real, were
closely related to life at the time, and were the subject of concern for many people.
Respondents were internet users concerned about financial topics and were many in
number. However, the limitations of internet investigation include the sampling process,
sample representativeness and voluntary participants. As for the problem of sample
representativeness, Hewson et al. (2003) noted that many studies were established on
highly homogeneous selective samples, particularly when research topics emphasized
specific groups, thereby of necessity facing the problem of an inability to obtain a
complete sampling framework. Subjects required for the subject is concerned about the
financial and economic topics, that is, a homogeneity sample set. Thereby overcome the
problem of sample representativeness. As for the problem of voluntary samples,
according to annual report -Taiwan's Broadband Internet Usage Survey of 2009 from the
increased by 71% (about 14.19 million individuals). Divided by age range, 4.08 million
(about 28.81%) individuals aged 24 and under have used the internet, while 10.10 million
(about 71.19%) individuals over the age of 25 have also used the internet. Of internet
users, males constitute approximately 7.33 million (51.64%), while females constitute
approximately 6.86 million (48.36%); meaning that the number of males is slightly
higher than the number of females. The most commonly used type of website is portal
websites. With increases in internet penetration throughout Taiwan, because the Yahoo!
Kimo website is the most popular online portal and because there are many online
browsers and voters, error caused by voluntary samples probably be diluted and
decreased, preventing to a certain extent excessive deviation of the sample (Babbie,
1990).
3.2 Selection of the research problem and explanation of investigation topic and social mood
Investor mood indices can be divided into direct indices and indirect emotion indices.
Indices established based on regular surveys distributed by agencies to collect the views
of respondents on future economic trends (e.g. the Investor Sentiment Index or the
Consumer Sentiment Index) are referred to as direct indices, while indices that apply
emotional indices. Methods used in researching gender differences in investment can be
divided into experimental, investigative, and indirect data inference methods. The
experimental method involves researchers manipulating experimental variables to
understand the choice behaviors of test subjects in experimental situations. However,
because environmental situations are designed and are not actual dynamic economic
environments, because experimental subjects may not be familiar with the topic of
research, and because of the difficulty of obtaining large samples, deviations may be
produced due to limitations in the results. The investigative method involves actively
distributing surveys for investigation, allowing for the understanding of the subjective
intent of respondents; however, subjective emotional indices may be unable to capture
true intent due to random sampling and because it is unknown whether the sample is
concerned about economic topics. In addition, survey questions are set, and respondents
may not think about or realize set economic or financial problems. The purpose of this
type of investigation is to reflect long-term trends; it is more difficult for these
investigations to reflect attitudes towards specific topics at specific times. If gender
differences are understood by way of indirect inference from collected individual
transaction behaviors rather than through direct association, while specific outward
conduct can be observed, an excess of impact factors leads to weaker evidence capacity.
specific economic incidents than do men, this study determined to employ the direct
survey results of an online poll distributed from June 2006 to 1st Quarter 2009 in the
financial news opinion center of the largest portal website in Taiwan – Yahoo! Kimo.
After filtering and downloading opinion surveys appropriate for analysis of topics related
to optimism and pessimism, research was performed on whether males and females have
identically optimistic responses in the face of optimistic or pessimistic economic events.
The research period of this study spanned from the second half of 2006 to the first
part of 2009, which included large economic or political incidents that impacted the stock
market or the economy, including protests demanding a presidential recall, massive
inflation of international, food, and goods prices, the financial crisis caused by American
subprime mortgages and the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, and the Taiwan’s
presidential election in 2008; this period and these events are of great value in examining
gender differences in the responses of internet users towards financial topics. However,
due to the emphasis on gender differences in financial topics, the questions chosen had to
include selections to differentiate optimists and pessimists. In addition, the research topic
had to be able to connect to economic news events of the time in order to differentiate
The investigative problems selected for this study included 12 questions. The
questions and answers were directly downloaded from the Yahoo! Kimo website.
Relevant news events that occurred in 12 months before the research period were
searched using the news database of the China Times series (China Times, Commercial
Times, China Times Express) in order to understand the background of the investigation
problems; social mood was determined to be optimistic or pessimistic based on the
attitudes exhibited by the media towards the topic. The backgrounds, social mood
categorizations, and definitions of optimistic and pessimistic responses are explained as
follows:
1. After the political turbulence in September 2006, would you
anticipate Taiwan’s stock market to rise or fall?
(20060828-20060904)
In 2006, due to charges of corruption involving President Chen Shui-bian
and his family, cries for a presidential recall increased and a series of
anti-corruption and anti-Chen movements1 occurred. The political
situation was highly unstable, and the media fought to report on relevant
conflicts. Investor confidence in the Taiwanese economy was damaged.
1 News reports from 27 August 2006 – [Commercial Times/Fortune/Page C1], 29 August 2006 –
According to Taiwanese investor emotional indices at the time, political
issues were the most important factor influencing Taiwanese markets; an
investor emotional index fell to -92.822, the lowest point of the year. We
therefore considered that the social mood was pessimistic. Observations
voting “rise” in the stock market were considered optimistic, while “fall”
was considered pessimistic.
2. Will Taiwan’s stock market break the 10,000-point threshold?
(20061228-20070111)
A Taiwan’s real estate market conditions quarterly report released by the
Architecture and Building Research Institute, Ministry of the Interior
showed that Property transactions in Taiwan 2006 broke records standing
since 1998; 70% of the news with regard to real estate was positive and
uplifting. According to a home demand movement investigation
published by the Institute for Physical Planning & Information in the 4th
quarter of 2006, the combined confidence of home purchasers across the
nation reached 110.27. Home purchasers had optimistic confidence in
home prices, particularly exhibiting increasing confidence in mid- to
long-term trends. The atmosphere investors were exposed to exhibit an
optimistic atmosphere; we thus considered that the social mood was
optimistic. Votes for that the real estate market “will improve” were
considered optimistic, while votes for that the real estate market “will
worsen” were considered pessimistic.3
3. Will Taiwan’s stock market break the 10,000-point threshold?
(20070424-20070507)
Taiwan’s stock market repeatedly rose; the stock index rose from 7,344
to 8,075 between March 5 and April 12 in 2007, constituting a 10%
increase within 6 weeks. The index stayed around 8,000 until the end of
April 2007, this is the first time the index had returned to 8,000 in 7 years.
Together with continual company mergers and acquisitions in Taiwan,
bull markets were pervasive in the world, stimulating the imaginations of
investors. The total transaction value of Taiwanese starts in March was
3 The home price confidence composite score is calculated from weighted views on home prices from three
months to 1 year later. The score ranges from 0 to 200. A score of 100 represents there are identical proportions of bullish investors and bearish investors. A score above 100 represents that there is a higher proportion of bullish investors; a score below 100 represents the opposite. The meaning of the home price confidence composite score lies in demand growth and short-term support strength for home prices. If the confidence score exceeds 100, home buyers are psychologically prepared for increases in home prices, providing support for increases in home prices; a score under 100 may pose a challenge to home price stability (Extracted from Institute for Physical Planning & Information).
the second-highest within 10 months, just behind January. As the stock
market is a positive measurement indicator of investor mood, we
considered social mood to be optimistic. Votes for “yes” were considered
optimistic, while votes for “no” were considered pessimistic.
4. Should the government liberalize investment to mainland China?
(20070807-20070820)
According to a 3 June 2009 China Times editorial, “the KMT, acting
through 44 legislators including Li Jizhu and Lei Jing, proposed a draft
amendment to the Cross-strait Ties statute, which proposes that products
or operations currently being mass-produced in the mainland China
region will not be categorized as illegal as long as they do not contravene
international treaties. However, mainland affairs committee chairman
Chen Ming-Tong believed that, “This proposal will lead to complete
liberalization of Taiwanese investment in the mainland, which will have
a huge impact on industry. Taiwanese competitive advantage will
disappear in the face of liberalization.”
entering the mainland market in order to avoid capital usage limitations.
Capital and companies continually left Taiwan, causing discussion on
whether limitations on mainland investment should be loosened to slow
this trend as well as the pain of worsening unemployment. Optimists
believed that liberalized investment in the mainland could reduce
outward capital flow and allow Taiwan to enjoy the fruits of economic
development on the mainland, while pessimists believed that total
liberalization would lead to outward movement of companies, leading to
a further downturn in Taiwanese industry and exacerbating the problem
of domestic unemployment.4 We classified this social mood as neutral.
Votes for “should” liberalize were categorized as optimistic, while votes
for “should not” liberalize were categorized as pessimistic.
5. After the presidential election, will you invest in Taiwanese stocks (or
Taiwanese funds)? (20080401-20080410)
After the presidential election results were revealed on March 22, 2008,
the Taiwanese stock market immediately rose by 524 points the next
business day. After the presidential election, a short-term inflow of
4From 3 June 2007 - [Commercial Times/News in Policy Focus/ Page A2] editorial: Comment on
capital and a sharp increase in potential trade and business activities with
Three-Links between Taiwan and Mainland China brought hope and
prosperity to people. Property transactions were hot again5 and investors
were expecting the stock market index to break the 10,000-point
threshold. At the same time, however, a global inflation crisis was caused
by an explosion of prices in oil, food, and materials. Moreover, people
were concerned with the potential impact of America’s subprime
mortgage crisis on Taiwan’s stock market. The unemployment rate stayed
high, potentially impacting Taiwanese stocks. High returns and no returns
were comingled. We classified the social mood as neutral. Votes for “I
will” were considered optimistic, while votes for “I won’t” were
considered pessimistic; other options were considered to be neutral.
6. Do you want mainland investors to invest in Taiwan Stock Market?
(20080428-20080510)
The Three-Links created many potential market opportunities, causing
domestic stock markets and real estate markets to operate energetically. It
was anticipated that opening mainland investment in Taiwanese stocks
would lead to capital injection and creation of new cross-strait ties. News
media continued to report that potential mainland investments could
provide investors with many opportunities in the market. We therefore
considered the social mood to be optimistic. Votes for “yes” were
considered optimistic, while votes for “no” were pessimistic; other
responses were neutral.
7. With high inflationary pressure and steep falls in Taiwan Stock
Market, what do you think? (20080701-20080710)
In the first half of 2008, international prices of oil, food and materials all
increased significantly. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) soared and was
breaking historical records. The Academia Sinica modified a 2008 annual
economic forecast. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) experienced an
annual growth of 3.93%, constituting the highest figure in inflation
released by the various Taiwanese economic forecast agencies in 14
years.6 The Taiwan weighted stock price index fell from a high of 8,865
points following the presidential election to 7,076 points within three
6 From 11 July 2008 – [China Times/Topics/Page A5] Goods Price Index Increases by 4%, a 14-year High
months (July 10), constituting a drop of 20%. Negative news was
pervasive, stock markets were continuously falling worldwide, and
investors lacked confidence in the future. In the previous month, the
government repeatedly encouraged foreign capital to return to Taiwan
and was determined to encourage insurance industry-type investment in
Taiwan stock market. Publicly listed companies were encouraged to
release treasury stocks, and inadequacies in the shareholdings of directors
and supervisors in publicly listed companies were to be covered in order
to save market confidence. Optimists believed that government
intervention would be able to cause the stock market to rise, while
pessimists believed that government intervention would not be able to
save the stock market in the face of the global crisis. We considered the
social mood to be pessimistic. Votes for “that’s great” were considered
optimistic, while votes for “that’s terrible” were considered pessimistic;
the rest were considered to be neutral.
8. Do you think the price of oil will rise to $200 per barrel before the
In 2008, oil prices continued to rise in the first half the year, reaching a
high of $147/barrel by June, marking a 172% rise over 18 months.
Increases in oil prices led to increases in commodities and goods prices,
inciting expectations of inflation and leading to hardship from increased
goods prices. Oil prices continued to rise, and the prices of electricity,
shipping, bulk materials, and commodities faced upward pressure,
leading to increased company costs and lowered profits; these forces led
to increased goods prices and reductions in consumer demand, a situation
creating hardship that was disadvantageous for economic growth. We
categorized the social mood as pessimistic. Votes for “will not” were
classified as optimistic, while votes for “will” were classified as
pessimistic; other responses were neutral.
9. Are you worried that labor insurance finances are unstable and that
you won’t be able to receive old age payments? (20080801-20080810)
The Legislative Yuan of Republic China reviewed and amended the
Labor Insurance Act in July 2008, considering the trends of an aging
society and low birthrates to establish a labor insurance pension system
with an income replacement rate of 1.55% and an initial insurance rate of
that outstanding payments had accumulated to a total of 7-8 hundred
billion NT dollars since July 2008. Performance had been continuously
negative for 6 months.7 The Council of Labor Affairs indicated that due
to excessively low labor insurance rates, together with an aging society,
labor insurance old-age payments have entered the mature stage. The
number of individuals receiving payments has increased on an annual
basis leading to a fiscal imbalance, has reach substantial loss. Without
other measures, the fund would go bankrupt 19 years after it began
operations. In responding to the advent of the aging era, important
reasons for the Council actively promoting the annuity system may lead
to losses to the labor insurance fund. There remains no adequate response
to the problem of low birthrates. Previously, elderly workers who had
low contribution rates could immediately enjoy the benefits of labor
insurance annuity. However, there was no appropriate principle of
fairness for user payments. A serious gap in insurance fee burdens has
resulted; citizens born in the 1980s must pay 1.8 times that of a citizen
receive old age payments. We classified the social mood as negative.
Votes for “not worried” were classified as optimistic, and votes for the
opposite were classified as pessimistic; other responses were neutral.
10. Do you believe that this stock market disaster will follow in the
footsteps of the 1930s Great Depression? (20081111-20081120)
In September 2008, the fall of Lehman Brothers created a global
financial tsunami, causing severe turbulence in the global financial
market. Countries like Taiwan, with its growth of the economy relying on
exports, potentially faced serious consequences. Negative news in
Europe and the U.S. warning of a depression caused panic among
investors. A global trend of unemployment also resulted. Domestic
industries faced with poor economic conditions were challenged by the
disappearance of orders and indefinite plant shutdowns. A new
unemployment high was recorded; companies that did not lay off
employees instead chose to reduce production or adopt unpaid leave
policies. Though employees did not lose their jobs in full, they were
essentially semi-unemployed or approaching unemployment.8 Economic
8 From 9 November 2008 – [Commercial Times/Global View/Page C3] New York Times; With the
Financial Crisis Worsening, is an Economic Crisis in the Making? 10 November 2008 – [Commercial Times/News in Focus/Page A2] Editorial: An Economic Freeze Nightmare Approaches by the Day
growth in Southeast Asia and other developing countries is primarily
reliant on consumption in the American and European regions. An
economic recession in the United States poses serious problems for
export-dependent countries, Taiwan among them. The American
financial crisis severely damaged global stock markets, causing
instabilities in international financial markets. Former Federal Reserve
chairman Alan Greenspan described the situation as a financial crisis
seen only once in a hundred years. The media competed to report on
economic recessions in the United States and Europe, immersing
investors in pessimistic trend reports on a daily basis. The weighted
index in Taiwan stock markets fell approximately 2,600 points from a
high of 6,800 points at the beginning of September 2008, constituting a
39% drop. Based on figures from an investigation published in October
2008, domestic investment mood dropped from 102 points in April 2008
to a historical record low of -176.53 in October 2008. Economic
fundamentals failed to recover. We classified the social mood as
11. Are you continuing to invest in stocks? (20081212-20081222)
The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 led to a global
financial crisis, causing stock markets to suffer great losses throughout
the world. The Taiwan stock market fell by more than 30%. However,
the three largest institutional investors purchased a total of $58 billion
NTD in the stock market from 8 December to 19 December in 2008,
causing investors to consider whether the Taiwanese stock market had hit
bottom and if investment could be considered. Losses in the stock market
reflected a pessimistic social mood. An investor mood index
investigation published in December 2008 also showed that investor
mood was highly pessimistic, with an index of -168.15 points. We
classified this social mood as pessimistic. Votes for “want to invest or are
investing” were classified as optimistic, and votes for the opposite were
considered pessimistic.
12. Do you think that gold prices will continue to rise in the future?
(20090301-20090310)
13. With an uncertain global economy, the value preservation benefits of
gold markets, causing the price of gold to climb9; a gold investment trend
also occurred around the same time domestically. Investors remained
skeptical due to the global economic recession. With considerations of
asset preservation and risk aversion, the capital of European and
American investors and opportunists flooded into the gold market,
causing the price of gold to climb quickly. Following the bankruptcy of
Lehman Brothers, global gold prices rose by over 30% over the previous
6 months. Media continued to report that gold prices were rising and that
investors were fighting to invest. We classified the social mood as
optimistic. Votes for “will” continue rising were classified as optimistic,
while votes for “will not” were considered pessimistic.
For convenient reference, categorizations of investigation questions, investigation
period, and social mood are summarized in Table 1. Of a total of 12 investigation
questions, from the perspective of social mood categorization, 4 were optimistic, 6 were
pessimistic, and 2 were neutral.
Table 1 Summary of Investigation question, period and social mood
No Questions Period SM
1 After the political turbulence in September 2006, would you anticipate Taiwan’s stock market to rise or fall?
20060828-20060904
P
2 What do you think of the real estate business in 2007 as compared to 2006?
20061228-20070111
O
3 Will Taiwan’s stock market break the 10,000-point threshold? 20070424-20070507
O
4 Should the government liberalize investment to mainland China?
20070807-20070820
N
5 After the presidential election, will you invest in Taiwanese stocks (or Taiwanese funds)?
20080401-20080410
N
6 Do you want mainland investors to invest in Taiwan Stock Market?
20080428-20080510
O
7 With high inflationary pressure and steep falls in Taiwan Stock Market, what do you think?
20080701-20080710
P
8 Do you think the price of oil will rise to $200 per barrel before the end of the year?
20080710-20080717
P
9 Are you worried that labor insurance finances are unstable and that you won’t be able to receive old age payments?
20080801-20080810
P
10 Do you believe that this stock market disaster will follow in the footsteps of the 1930s Great Depression?
20081111-20081120
P
11 Are you continuing to invest in stocks? 20081212-20081222
P
12 Do you think that gold prices will continue to rise in the future? 20090301-20090310
O
3.3 Data coding method and testing methods
Responses to questions were categorized into optimistic and pessimistic responses.
The coding method for the question responses involved assigning a positive whole
number greater than zero based on the degree of optimism and assigning a negative
whole number based on the degree of pessimism. A greater absolute value indicated
greater strength. Neutral responses were assigned a value of zero. For example, gains in
the first question include three different options with differing degrees of gains and also
three different options with different degrees of falls. The coding method involves
expressing gains (optimism) from lowest to highest by 1-3, while falls (pessimism) are
expressed from lowest to highest by (-1)-(-3). After developing a cross-table based on the
options and genders determined by the questions, Chi-square χ2 independence testing was
performed. In understanding the distribution of various options, a Mann-Whitney test
using two nonparametric independent samples was used to confirm whether females are
more pessimistic than males. The Mann-Whitney test, also called the rank sum test, is a
nonparametric test that compares two unpaired groups, is for assessing whether two
independent samples of observations come from the same distribution. It is one of the
best-known non-parametric significance tests and does not assume that the populations
groups. It is possible to have a tiny P value - clear evidence that the population medians
4. Research Results
The number of voters and gender distribution are shown in Table 2. It can be seen
from the table that voter numbers gradually increased with the financial news website
poll Center was established longer. Samples from 2006 averaged 4,000 individuals,
increasing to 8,000 in 2007 and 10,000 in 2008.
Table 2 Number and gender of participants
NO Total Male Female M% F%
Q1 3,547 2,303 1,244 65 35 Q2 5,428 3,187 2,241 59 41 Q3 6,919 4,394 2,525 64 36 Q4 10,873 5,979 4,894 55 45 Q5 10,544 5,116 5,428 49 51 Q6 13,160 6,396 6,764 49 51 Q7 7,899 3,856 4,043 49 51 Q8 15,387 6,284 9,103 41 59 Q9 5,879 2,731 3,148 46 54 Q10 13,662 7,001 6,661 51 49 Q11 9,511 5,305 4,207 56 44 Q12 8,363 3,791 4,572 45 55
Cross-table analysis and Mann-Whitney testing with two independent samples were
performed for questions individually. Cross-table results are as shown in Tables 3 – 14.
Chi-square (χ2) test and Mann-Whitney test results are organized in the format of Table
15 for convenience.
In the cross-table analysis for Table 3, the table for Question 1: “Following the
political turbulence in September 2006, would you anticipate Taiwan’s stock market to
rise or fall?” it can be seen that females are significantly higher than males in the
pessimistic options, while males are significantly higher than females in the pessimistic
options. Chi-square (χ2) test results showed significant differences (p<0.0001) in
pessimism and optimism between males and females. The social mood of this question
was pessimistic. It could be seen from the results of both pessimistic and optimistic
options that females are more pessimistic than males. Mann-Whitney testing results also
showed significant differences in pessimism and optimism between males and females
Table 3 Cross table of Question 1: “After the political turbulence in September 2006,
would you anticipate Taiwan’s stock market to rise or fall?”
Cross table of Q1 -3 -2 -1 1 2 3 Total M 645 373 190 220 341 534 2,303 M% 28.0% 16.2% 8.3% 9.6% 14.8% 23.2% 100.0% F 370 342 136 118 138 140 1,244 F% 29.7% 27.5% 10.9% 9.5% 11.1% 11.3% 100.0% Total 1,015 715 326 338 479 674 3,547 Total % 28.6% 20.2% 9.2% 9.5% 13.5% 19.0% 100.0%
Note. “M” denotes male, “F” denotes female;
In the cross-table analysis for Table 4, the table for Question 2: “What do you think
of the real estate business in 2007 as compared to 2006?”, it can be seen that the
percentage of males who expected real estate to drop was higher than the percentage of
females who expected the same; the proportion of females who believed that real estate
would gain in price was higher than the proportion of males who believed the same.
Chi-square (χ2) test results and Mann-Whitney test results both reached significant levels
greater than male optimism occurred, differing significantly from previous results that
suggested that females are more pessimistic.
Table 4 Cross table of Question 2: “What do you think of the real estate business in
2007 as compared to 2006?” Cross table of Q2 -2 -1 0 1 2 Total M 510 807 419 1,127 324 3,187 M% 16.0% 25.3% 13.1% 35.4% 10.2% 100.0% F 161 523 341 854 362 2,241 F% 7.2% 23.3% 15.2% 38.1% 16.2% 100.0% Total 671 1,330 760 1,981 686 5,428 Total % 12.4% 24.5% 14.0% 36.5% 12.6% 100.0%
Note. “M” denotes male, “F” denotes female;
In the cross-table analysis for Table 5, the table for Question 3: “Will Taiwan’s
stock market break the 10,000-point threshold?” it can be seen that the hope of males
that Taiwanese stocks would reach 10,000 points exceeded that of females. The
proportion of females who believed that Taiwanese stocks would not reach 10,000 points
reached significant levels (p＜0.0001). The social mood of this question was categorized
as optimistic, and results showed that males are more optimistic than females.
Table 5 Cross table of Question 3: “Will Taiwan’s stock market break the 10,000-point
threshold?” Cross Table of Q3 -2 -1 1 2 Total M 847 2,199 768 580 4,394 M% 19.3% 50.0% 17.5% 13.2% 100.0% F 1,073 797 386 269 2,525 F% 42.5% 31.6% 15.3% 10.7% 100.0% Total 1,920 2,996 1,154 849 6,919 Total % 27.7% 43.3% 16.7% 12.3% 100.0%
Note. “M” denotes male, “F” denotes female;
In the cross-table analysis for Table 6, the table for the Question 4: “Should the
government liberalize investment to mainland China”, it can be seen that the percentage
levels (p＜0.0001). The social mood of this question was neutral, and the results showed
that males are more optimistic than females.
Table 6 Cross table of Question 4: “Should the government liberalize investment to
mainland China?” Cross Table of Q4 -2 -1 1 2 Total M 960 583 1,261 3,175 5,979 M% 16.1% 9.8% 21.1% 53.1% 100.0% F 748 694 1,407 2,045 4,894 F% 15.3% 14.2% 28.7% 41.8% 100.0% Total 1,708 1,277 2,668 5,220 10,873 Total % 15.7% 11.7% 24.5% 48.0% 100.0%
Note. “M” denotes male, “F” denotes female;
In the cross-table analysis for Table 7, the table for Question 5: “After the
presidential election, will you invest in Taiwanese stocks (or Taiwanese funds)?” it can
be seen that the percentage of males who would choose to invest is higher than the
corresponding percentage of females, while the percentage of females who choose not to
invest is higher than the corresponding percentage of males; the percentage of females
percentage of males. Chi-square (χ2) test results and Mann-Whitney test results also
reached significant levels (p＜0.0001). The social mood of this question was categorized
as neutral, and results showed that females are more pessimistic than males.
Table 7 Cross table of Question 5: “After the presidential election, will you invest in
Taiwanese stocks (or Taiwanese funds)?”
Cross Table of Q5 -1 0 1 Total M 1,480 594 3,042 5,116 M% 28.9% 11.6% 59.5% 100.0% F 1,704 1,035 2,689 5,428 F% 31.4% 19.1% 49.5% 100.0% Total 3,184 1,629 5,731 10,544 Total % 30.2% 15.4% 54.4% 100.0%
Note. “M” denotes male, “F” denotes female;
In the cross-table analysis for Table 8, the table for Question 6: “Do you want
mainland investors to invest in Taiwan Stock Market?”, it can be seen that the percentage
Chi-square (χ2) test results and Mann-Whitney test results both reached significant levels
(p＜0.0001). The social mood of this question was optimistic, and the results showed that
females are more pessimistic than males.
Table 8 Cross table of Question 6: “Do you want mainland investors to invest in
Taiwan Stock Market?”
Cross Table of Q6 -1 0 1 2 Total M 2,284 319 1,790 2,003 6,396 M% 35.7% 5.0% 28.0% 31.3% 100.0% F 2,692 596 2,198 1,278 6,764 F% 39.8% 8.8% 32.5% 18.9% 100.0% Total 4,976 915 3,988 3,281 13,160 Total % 37.8% 7.0% 30.3% 24.9% 100.0%
Note. “M” denotes male, “F” denotes female;
In the cross-table analysis for Table 9, the table for Question 7: “With high
inflationary pressure and steep falls in Taiwan Stock Market, what do you think?” it can
be seen that a higher percentage of males than females selected the optimistic option,
“Excellent! There are cheap assets to scoop up.”; a higher percentage of females than
Chi-square (χ2) test results and Mann-Whitney test results both reached significant levels
(p＜0.0001). The social mood of this question was pessimistic, and the results showed
that females are more pessimistic than males.
Table 9 Cross table of Question 7: “With high inflationary pressure and steep falls in
Taiwan Stock Market, what do you think?”
Cross Table of Q7 -1 0 1 Total M 976 1,558 1,322 3,856 M% 25.3% 40.4% 34.3% 100.0% F 1,095 2,073 875 4,043 F% 27.1% 51.3% 21.6% 100.0% Total 2,071 3,631 2,197 7,899 Total % 26.2% 46.0% 27.8% 100.0%
Note. “M” denotes male, “F” denotes female;
In the cross-table analysis for Table 10, the table for Question 8: “Do you think the
price of oil will rise to $200 per barrel before the end of the year?”, it can be seen that the
exceed $200/barrel. In addition, a greater percentage of females than males selected the
“I don’t know” option. Chi-square (χ2) test results and Mann-Whitney test results both
reached significant levels (p＜0.0001). The social mood of this question was pessimistic,
and the results showed that females are more pessimistic than males.
Table 10 Cross table of Question 8: “Do you think the price of oil will rise to $200 per
barrel before the end of the year?”
Cross Table of Q8 -1 0 1 Total M 3,294 1,202 1,788 6,284 M% 52.4% 19.1% 28.5% 100.0% F 5,017 2,622 1,464 9,103 F% 55.1% 28.8% 16.1% 100.0% Total 8,311 3,824 3,252 15,387 Total % 54.0% 24.9% 21.1% 100.0%
Note. “M” denotes male, “F” denotes female;
It can be seen from Table 11, the cross-table analysis for Question 9: “Are you
worried that labor insurance finances are unstable and that you won’t be able to receive
old age payments?”, that a greater percentage of females than males had chosen the
wouldn’t be able to receive old age payments; the percentage of males who selected that
they were not worried about labor finance instability was higher than the corresponding
percentage of females. Chi-square (χ2) test results and Mann-Whitney test results both
reached significant levels (p＜0.0001). The social mood of this question was pessimistic,
and the results showed that females are more pessimistic than males.
Table 11 Cross table of Question 9: “Are you worried that labor insurance finances are
unstable and that you won’t be able to receive old age payments?”
Cross Table of Q9 -2 -1 0 1 Total M 1,747 620 117 247 2,731 M% 64.0% 22.7% 4.3% 9.0% 100.0% F 2,287 590 99 172 3,148 F% 72.6% 18.7% 3.1% 5.5% 100.0% Total 4,034 1,210 216 419 5,879 Total % 68.6% 20.6% 3.7% 7.1% 100.0%
Note. “M” denotes male, “F” denotes female;
