GENDER DIFFERENCES IN DAYS LOST FROM WORK DUE TO ILLNESS

The author uses data from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey to investigate the extent and determinants of gender differences in d ays lost from work due to illness. She finds that for both men and wom en, health status measures, such as self-reported health status and me dical events, more consistently explained absenteeism than did economi c factors such as wages and the presence of sick leave. The presence o f young children increased women's, but not men's, probability of miss ing work, as well as women's number of absences for those who missed w ork in 1987. Among men who were absent from work in 1987, however, the presence of children in dag care increased the number of days lost fr om work. In that regard, those men, most of whom were likely to be eit her single parents or married with a working wife, behaved more like m others with young children than like other men.