Non-response in a survey among immigrants in Denmark

The purpose of this paper is to study how various characteristics of respondents and interviewers affect non-response among immigrants. We use a survey conducted among immigrants in Denmark and ethnic Danes. First, we analyse the determinants of overall non-response. Second, we analyse how the determinants of contact and of response given contact differ. We find that characteristics of the respondents are important for the response rate – especially they are important for the probability of getting in contact with the respondent. The lower probability of response among immigrants compared to ethnic Danes persists after controlling for all the other variables. We also find - contrary to expectations - that none of the observable interviewer-characteristics seem to affect the response rate.