An Empirical Study of Mortality Models in Taiwan

Abstract

There has been a significant increase in the life expectancies of the Taiwanese population after the end of Second World War. Like in many developed countries, due to the prolonging life expectancy and lower fertility rates, the aging population has now become a major policy concern in Taiwan. The search for feasible methods for modeling the future mortality changes has become a popular issue in Taiwan. The Lee-Carter (LC) model, the reduction factor (RF) model and the age-period-cohort (APC) model are three frequently used methods for modeling future mortality dynamics. In this paper, we introduce these three models and discuss their respective pros and cons. We carry out an empirical study using these models based on Taiwan mortality experience. In addition, we make a comparison analysis of different models with different mortality experience in Japan, England and Wales, and the US.