Cohort Effects on Homicide in Korea

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

The age–crime curve has long been regarded as a stylized fact in criminology. Rates of offending increase through adolescence, peak in young adulthood, and decline thereafter. However, recent studies demonstrate that the age–crime relationship varies across countries. Korea in particular deviates from the archetypical age–crime distribution. Some have argued that the interaction of age-graded roles and status within particular socio-cultural contexts leads to divergent age-crime patterns across countries. Yet, such variation need not result from contextual influences. Indeed, the age–crime relationship can also change over time within countries through period and cohort effects. This study examines the cohort effect on the age–crime relationship in Korea, using the age-specific homicide arrest data for the years 1976 through 2019. The peak age of homicide offending has increased from 26 to 59 years. This increase coincided with the aging of the baby boomers. Using the age-period-cohort-characteristic model, I confirm that the relative cohort size is positively associated with age-specific homicide rates. To conclude, in addition to age effects, cohort effects have played an important role in shaping the atypical age–crime relationship in Korea.

Author

• Byunggu Kang, University at Albany, SUNY