Sickness absence differences between natives and immigrant workers: The role of differences in self-reported health

The limited empirical evidence on sickness absence among immigrants indicates that nonWestern immigrants have a higher incidence of sickness-related absence than natives. The purpose of this article is to examine whether health is a contributing factor to the immigrantnative sickness absence gap. The present article makes use of two data sources: register data (FD-trygd) with labour market and sickness absence information linked to a cross-section questionnaire survey on health: The Oslo Health Study (HUBRO), which was conducted in 2000–2001, (N=14,114). The findings in this article show that non-Western immigrant have a higher incidence of sickness absence than natives. For both women and men, the differences in sickness absence between non-Western immigrants and natives can be explained by poorer selfreported health among immigrants.