Paper Title
Analyzing the Moderation Effect of Heat Wave on the Impact Relationship between Health Damage and Environmental Justice Characteristics Using Panel Data
Abstract
This study has intended to analyze the relationship between the heat wave's impact on health and the local
community's environmental justice characteristics, and the heat wave's moderation effect on such a relationship. A multiple
regression analysis was employed to identify the relationship between the heat wave's health impact and the local
community's environmental justice characteristics. Next, a moderated regression analysis was performed to find out the heat
wave's moderation effect on the relationship identified above. The analysis results could be summed up in the following two
findings: First, the relationship between the heat wave's health damage and the local community's environmental justice
characteristics was found to be statistically significant. The proportion of those aged 65 years or older, the number of
recipients of the national basic living security, and the number of personnel at public health centers showed a positive (+)
effect on the number of deaths caused by circulatory system diseases during summer season. On the contrary, the level of
financial independence, the number of doctors in medical institutions, and an area with urban parks showed a negative (-)
effect. Second, the heat wave's moderation effect turned out to be statistically significant for the relationship between the
health damage caused by the heat wave and the local community's environmental justice characteristics. Among other
environmental justice characteristics, the number of days with heat wave showed a similar moderation effect on the
relationship between the number of recipients of the national basic living security, the number of doctors in medical
institutions, and the number of deaths caused by circulatory system diseases during summer season. It was found that an
increase in the number of days with heat wave eased the number of recipients of the national basic living security's positive
(+) effect on the number of deaths caused by circulatory system diseases during summer season. In contrast, an increase in
the number of days with heat wave intensified the number of doctors in medical institutions' negative (-) effect on the
number of deaths caused by circulatory system diseases during summer season.
Keywords: Heat Wave, Health Damage, Environmental Justice, Panel Data, Moderation Effect Analysis.