Director, Population Studies Center
Dorothy Swaine Thomas Professor of Sociology
Ph.D., Sociology, University of Chicago, 1997
Director, Population Studies Center
Dorothy Swaine Thomas Professor of Sociology
Ph.D., Sociology, University of Chicago, 1997
Migration, both within and across countries, is a significant life-course event with diverse implications for the migrants themselves and their families as well as for sending and receiving areas and countries. My research has migration as it central focus and its interaction with other demographic and social processes. My interests fall into three broad categories: 1- The Hispanic population of the United States, especially issues of immigrant adaptation and new areas of migrant settlement; 2- International migration, with special emphasis on its determinants and consequences for sending and receiving regions including health and family outcomes; 3- Social and demographic change in Latin America, including social mobility and family behavior. Presently I have concentrated my efforts in studying the intersection of gender, migration, and health risks among Mexican and Honduran migrants in sending areas and receiving communities in the U.S. Throughout my research I combine quantitative and qualitative methods. I draw upon diverse sources of existing data such as population and economic statistics and survey data, as well as collecting original survey and ethnographic data. I use a variety of advanced statistical methods for data analysis, and draw upon ethnographic and historical materials for contextualizing relationships and interpreting outcomes. This mixing of research methods and data sources enhances my analyses of complex social and demographic phenomena.