Do Different Approaches in Population Science Lead to Divergent or Convergent Models?

Abstract

This paper will first explore some of the tools for studying the dynamics that drives the trajectories: Event-duration models which lead to event history analysis; event-sequences models which lead to sequence analysis; multiple level models which lead to multilevel analysis; social network models which lead to multilevel social-network analysis. It then shows that these models can be classified under some more general concepts: The statistical individual concept covers event history and sequence analysis; the statistical network concept covers multilevel and social-network analysis. It seems then necessary to set up a more robust research program for demography. This research program may follow the induction’s way given by Bacon in searching for the structure of the studied phenomena and the interactions between the networks created by people. Such a program will be able to lead to a convergence of these different models.