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Comment
. 2013 Sep:93:163-5.
doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.04.029. Epub 2013 May 4.

The impossibility of separating age, period and cohort effects

Andrew Bell  1 , Kelvyn Jones
Affiliations
Free article
Comment

The impossibility of separating age, period and cohort effects

Andrew Bell et al. Soc Sci Med. 2013 Sep.
Free article

Abstract

This commentary discusses the age-period-cohort identification problem. It shows that, despite a plethora of proposed solutions in the literature, no model is able to solve the identification problem because the identification problem is inherent to the real-world processes being modelled. As such, we cast doubt on the conclusions of a number of papers, including one presented here (Page, Milner, Morrell, & Taylor, 2013). We conclude with some recommendations for those wanting to model age, period and cohort in a compelling way.

Keywords: Age–period–cohort models; Collinearity; Model identification.

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