What is Hierarchical Age-Period-Cohort (HPAC) Model?
Aging effect vs. Period effect vs. Cohort effect
Estimating APC models using Multilevel Models
Age effects are variations linked to biological and social processes of aging specific to individuals. They refer to accumulation of social experiences linked to aging, but unrelated to the time period or birth cohort to which an individual belongs.
E.g. individuals become more conservative in finances when getting older
Aging effect
Period effects result from external factors that equally affect all age groups at a particular calendar time. It could arise from a range of environmental, social and economic factors e.g. war, famine, economic crisis.
E.g. Common experience of WWII, General Depression
Methodological changes in outcome definitions, classifications, or method of data collection could also lead to period effects in data.
Period effect
Cohort effects are variations resulting from the unique experience/exposure of a group of subjects (cohort) as they move across time.
The most commonly defined group is the birth cohort based on year of birth.
A cohort effect is conceptualized as an interaction or effect modification due to a period effect that is differentially experienced through age-specific exposure or susceptibility to that event or cause.
E.g. Change in curricula leading to generational changes in attitudes such as same sex marriage
Cohort effect
Estimating Age, Cohort (Generational) & Period Effects With Survey Data
Longstanding Problem – Intractable with cross-sectional data
HAPC Models are Two-Level Hierarchical Models with cohort and period effects cross-classified at the 2nd Level
See, e.g., Raudenbush & Bryk (2002: ch. 12)
Electoral Studies Symposium (March 2014)
Software – HLM, Stata, SAS
Hierarchical Age-Period-Cohort (HAPC) Models
Multiple Surveys Over Long Time Span Desirable – e.g., ANES, GSS
Regular Time Interval Desirable – e.g., every 2, 4 years
Large N’s for large age cohorts
Co-ordination with Electoral Cycle Desirable
Individual-Level Panels Useful But Not Requisite
Repeated Cross-Sections Useful
Survey data for HAPC Models
General HAPC Model
Raudenbush & Bryk (2002) Notation
Equation (1) is Individual-Level Model
Equation (2) is Level 2 Model with Period (b) x Age Cohort (c) Components
Political Efficacy and Age: Unemployment Random Intercept Effect
Taiwan interesting case – new democracy
Models for Voting Turnout, Attention to Politics, Political Efficacy (No Say in Politics) & KMT Party Identification Have Significant Age, Cohort & Period Variation.