Overview

My research program has two major foci that are continuations of work over the past two decades. The first focus is on the processes of ethnic integration and differentiation in the U.S. I am currently studying the dynamics of the internal migration of immigrants to the U.S. and the linkages between immigration and the migratory patterns of native-born residents. This work extends earlier efforts that examined labor market and household adaptations of immigrants and the evolving living arrangements of immigrant elderly. I recently completed a Census 2000 Population Reference Bureau monograph focusing on shifts over the past three decades in the patterns of integration of immigrant populations, and am working on a Russell Sage Foundation supported investigation of the forces shaping the internal redistribution of the foreign-born population of the United States. That project has involved the successful completion of parallel proposals to the U.S. Census Bureau in order to gain access to restricted Census and American Community Survey data at the New York Census Research Data Center. I am also investigating, with support from the Sloan Foundation, global patterns of international student mobility. The second research focus is on the links between the evolving status of women and major demographic processes. My work in this area includes multi-level studies of child health and survival outcomes and women's fertility outcomes in India and Sub-Saharan Africa, and an analysis of the interactions between women's educational attainment, preferences for sons, and fertility outcomes in an India that is experiencing significant fertility declines but remains well above replacement fertility. The major goals of my teaching program are to provide courses and lectures which facilitate, for undergraduate and graduate students, comprehension of the complex interactions between demographic structures and processes and the organizational, technological and cultural dimensions of changing societies.

Research Focus

My research focuses mainly on the process of human migration. Currently I am involved in the investigation of processes shaping the internal migration of foreign-born persons in the United States to non-traditional immigrant destinations. This research is supported by the Russell Sage Foundation and involves working with confidential Census data at the New York Census Research Data Center.

Instruction Focus

I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in a number of areas focused on the links between population dynamics (e.g. migration, growth, health) and development processes. I also have responsibility for several research methods courses. Courses Taught: DSOC 608 (PAM 606) Demographic Methods; DSOC 438/638 (SOC 437) Population and Development; DSOC431/631 Comparative Ethnic Stratification; DSOC 275 Immigration and a Changing America; DSOC 101 Introduction to Sociology; and DSOC 619 Quantitative Methodology.

Additional Links

• Cornell Migration Issues Group
• Development Sociology
• Polson Institute for Global Development
• Link to CALS Research portal
• Link to CALS Impact statements

Professional Activities

• "New Immigrant Destinations, " Inaugural De Jong Lecture in Social Demography, 21 September 2006, State College, PA: Pennsylvania State University (with M.M. Kritz). - 2006
• "New Immigrant Destinations: Stability and Change, " Moving Americans Conference, University of Washington, Seattle, 4-6 May 2006 (NICHD sponsored conference; with M.M. Kritz). - 2006
• "Migrations and Developments. " Invited presentation at the Polson Institute for Global Development's Development Challenges in the 21st Century Conference, Cornell University, October 1-2, 2004. - 2004
• "Caribbeans in the US: Selective Migration and Health Conditions. " Keynote presentation at the dedication of the Dr. Jos? V?zquez Calzada Centro de Datos Censales y Estad?sticas de Salud, University of Puerto Rico, School of Public Health. April 27, 2001. - 2001

Selected Publications

• Kritz, M.M and D. T. Gurak. 2005. "Immigration and a Changing America. " Pp. 259-301 in R. Farley and J. Haaga (Eds). The American People: Census 2000. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. 2005
• Potdar, R. and D. T. Gurak. 2003. "An Examination of the Intensification Effect of Son Preference on Recent Trends in Regional Fertility in India. " Journal of Population, 9, 2 (Part 3). 2003
• Kritz, M.M. and D.T. Gurak. "The Impact of Immigration on the Internal Migration of Natives and Immigrants. " Demography 38.1 (Feb.): 133-145. 2001
• Kritz, M.M., P. Makinwa, and D.T. Gurak. "Wife's Empowerment and Reproduction in Nigeria. " Pp. 239-260 in Harriet Presser and Gita Sen (Eds.) Female Empowerment and Demographic Processes: Moving Beyond Cairo. London: Oxford University Press (IUSSP Committee on Gender and Population). 2000
• Kritz, M.M., D.T. Gurak, and L. Chen. "Elderly Immigrants: Their Composition and Living Arrangements. " Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare 26 (March): 85-114. 2000
• Gurak, D.T. and M.M. Kritz. "Context Determinants of Interstate Migration of U.S. Immigrants. " Social Forces 78.3 (March): 1017-1039. 2000
• Ahiadeke, C., D.T. Gurak, and S.J. Schwager. "Breastfeeding Behavior and Infant Survival With Emphasis on Reverse Causation: Some Evidence from Nigeria. " Social Biology 47, 1-2 (Spring-Summer): 94-113. 2000

[top]