Abstract: 

Social and political change can be understood in terms of three basic temporal variables: age, period, and cohort (APC). Age is simply the amount of time that has elapsed since birth, period is the moment in historical time when the observation takes place, and cohort is the time when an individual was born. These variables entail quite different explanations and mechanisms. Although the conceptual distinction between age, period, and cohort effects seems clear enough, they are difficult to distinguish in empirical research. The reason is that age, period, and cohort are defined in terms of each other: period (survey year) minus age is cohort (birth year), period minus cohort is age, and age plus cohort is period.

Several solutions to the APC problem have been proposed, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. The objective of this workshop is to give an overview of the most important approaches to APC analysis in contemporary research. Participants will get acquainted with the rationale, caveats, and critiques associated with each approach.

Speakers:

Prof. Juho Härkönen and Dr. Jos Van Leeuwen, European University Institute