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Demography and age heaping: solving Ireland’s post-famine digit preference puzzle

Author

Listed:
  • Eoin McLaughlin

    (University College Cork and Heriot-Watt University)

  • Christopher L. Colvin

    (Queen's University Belfast)

  • Stuart Henderson

    (Ulster University)

Abstract

The quality of age reporting in Ireland worsened in the years after the Great Irish Famine (1845–1852), even as other measures of educational attainment improved. We show how demography partly accounts for this seemingly conflicting pattern. Specifically, we argue that a greater propensity to emigrate typified the youngest segment (23–32- year-olds) used in conventional indices of digit preference. Quantification of age heaping must therefore be interpreted in light of an older underlying population which is more likely to heap. We propose how age heaping indices can adjust for such demographic change by introducing age standardisation.

Suggested Citation

  • Eoin McLaughlin & Christopher L. Colvin & Stuart Henderson, 2022. "Demography and age heaping: solving Ireland’s post-famine digit preference puzzle," Working Papers 0230, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    • Handle: RePEc:hes:wpaper:0230
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    File URL: https://www.ehes.org/wp/EHES_230.pdf
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    Keywords

    age heaping; human capital; demography;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General

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