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Abstract
A highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza (AI) has been confirmed in 420
human cases and has caused 257 deaths in the world starting from 2003. Using
face-to-face interviews, our data were collected by utilizing a stratified sampling
scheme following the distribution of gender and age in three major metropolitan
areas in Taiwan, including Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung. The questionnaire
was designed to retrieve information including AI knowledge, risk perceptions, and
behavioral changes of two types of consumers, primary shoppers and general
consumers. In total, 501 primary shoppers and 505 general consumers completed
the survey in June 2007 and were recorded for analysis. The empirical results
show several interesting findings, especially, that risk perception and some socioeconomic
characteristics such as age are the key factor which determines changes in
purchasing behavior.