The Age-Period-Cohort-Interaction Model for Describing and Investigating Inter-cohort Deviations and Intra-cohort Life-course Dynamics

Liying Luo, James S. Hodges

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Social scientists have frequently sought to understand the distinct effects of age, period, and cohort, but disaggregation of the three dimensions is difficult because cohort = period − age. We argue that this technical difficulty reflects a disconnection between how the cohort effect is conceptualized and how it is modeled in the traditional age-period-cohort framework. We propose a new method, called the age-period-cohort-interaction (APC-I) model, that is qualitatively different from previous methods in that it represents Ryder’s theoretical account about the conditions under which cohort differentiation may arise. This APC-I model does not require problematic statistical assumptions and the interpretation is straightforward. It quantifies inter-cohort deviations from the age and period main effects and also permits hypothesis testing about intra-cohort life-course dynamics. We demonstrate how this new model can be used to examine age, period, and cohort patterns in women’s labor force participation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1164-1210
Number of pages47
JournalSociological Methods and Research
Volume51
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Authors are grateful to Caren Arbeit, Julia Drew, Catherine Fitch, Zhi Li, Carolyn Liebler, Ian Ross Macmillan, Susan Mason, Robert M. O’Brien, Rob Warren, and the anonymous reviewers for providing helpful comments. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project has benefited from the support of the Population Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University and the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota.

Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project has benefited from the support of the Population Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University and the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.

Keywords

  • age-period-cohort model
  • cohort effect
  • identification problem
  • interaction
  • life course

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