Chenoa Flippen, Ph.D.

My research addresses the connection between racial and ethnic inequality and contextual forces at the neighborhood, metropolitan, and national level. Most of my work falls into three broad categories: 1) racial and ethnic inequality in the United States 2) life-course and aging, particularly as it relates to minority well-being and 3) Hispanic immigrant adaptation, especially in new areas of destination across the American South. Throughout my research I combine quantitative and qualitative methods, drawing upon diverse sources of existing data as well as collecting original survey and ethnographic data. I have applied these methods to diverse topics such as the relationship between housing appreciation and neighborhood composition, the relationship between residential segregation and minority homeownership, pathways to retirement for black and Hispanic elders, and the impact of migration on men’s HIV risk behaviors and women’s interpersonal power. I am currently conducting the project “Vivir Racionado (Living on Rations): A Study of the Economic Survival Strategies of Migrant Latinos.” This project examines the labor market experiences of undocumented Hispanic migrants, the role of income pooling in surviving low wage work, and forms of informal savings groups such as “la tanda.” With this research I hope to provide greater understanding of both the financial position of migrant Hispanics and the process and antecedents of wealth accumulation for this group, shedding light on the main impediments to Hispanic asset accumulation through the inclusion of factors not commonly captured in large-scale surveys of wealth inequality.