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Lisa A. Keister CV

Professor of Sociology
Sociology
Duke Box 90088, Durham, NC 27708-0088
2200 West Main Street (Suite 700), Durham, NC 27705
CV

Overview


Lisa A. Keister is professor of sociology and public policy at Duke University and an affiliate of the Duke Network Analysis Center and the Duke Population Research Initiative. Her current research focuses on organization strategy, elite households, the processes that explain extremes in wealth and income inequality, and on group differences in the intergenerational transfer of assets. She has been focusing on the causes and consequences of net worth poverty recently with colleagues from the Sanford school and is currently completing two books: one on America’s wealthiest families, the one percent, and one on net worth poverty.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor of Sociology · 2006 - Present Sociology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy · 2018 - Present Sanford School of Public Policy
Faculty Research Scholar of DuPRI's Population Research Center · 2010 - Present Duke Population Research Center, Duke Population Research Institute
Affiliate of the Center for Child and Family Policy · 2023 - Present Center for Child and Family Policy, Sanford School of Public Policy
Bass Fellow · 2018 - Present Sociology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

In the News


Published October 17, 2023
Helping Social Scientists Grow an Idea into a Research Project
Published June 8, 2016
Duke sociologists: How blacks and whites spend differently
Published February 5, 2015
Bullock to Retire from Duke Kunshan University

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Recent Publications


Generation X and the Restructuring of Retirement: Cohort, Institutional Context, and Social Class in U.S. Wealth Inequality

Journal Article Social Sciences · March 10, 2026 Retirement wealth is a core indicator of financial security, autonomy, and inequality in later life. This paper examines how cohort, institutional context, and social class interact to shape retirement wealth, focusing on Generation X. Gen X occupi ... Full text Cite

Rethinking Financial Status: A Comprehensive Case-Based Approach

Journal Article Social Currents · January 1, 2026 Financial status—the configuration of a household’s income, assets, and debts—shapes economic security, social position, influence, and opportunities for intergenerational transmission of well-being. Yet prior research typically relies on single, summed in ... Full text Cite

Religion in the one percent: A study of American elites

Journal Article Sociological Forum · September 1, 2025 American elites—those in the top one percent of the income and wealth distributions—have enormous economic, political, and social influence. It was once taken for granted that affluent Americans were Mainline Protestants (MPs). However, shifting religious ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


Focused Training in Social Networks and Health

Inst. Training Prgm or CMECo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2015 - 2026

Net Worth Poverty and Children's Development

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2022 - 2025

Economic security and health disparity in COVID-19: A computational modeling approach.

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2021 - 2024

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Education


Cornell University · 1997 Ph.D.
Cornell University · 1995 M.A.
University of Oklahoma · 1991 M.A.

External Links


Keister CV