Espen Dahl

Espen Dahl is a Professor at Oslo Metropolitan University's Faculty of Social Sciences, working as a part-time lecturer/employee. His research focuses on social inequality, work inclusion, health disparities, and welfare state policies, with particular attention to migration studies and labor market integration for vulnerable populations.

Professor Dahl is affiliated with the research groups "Living conditions, health, work and social inequality" and "Work Inclusion in North and South: Comparative Urban Contexts (WORKINC)." His work examines how work inclusion affects social integration of migrants in urban settings, service integration for citizens with complex needs, and social inequalities in Nordic welfare states over individuals' life courses. His research methodology often employs register-based studies and comparative approaches across Nordic countries.

His substantial publication record includes 98 scientific publications, 24 research reports, and 134 dissemination pieces. Recent work analyzes trajectories of social assistance recipients in Norway, occupational job strain, return to work after cancer, and the relationship between economic inequality and mortality. His research demonstrates consistent focus on the intersection of social policy, labor market dynamics, and health outcomes.

Professor Dahl contributes to several significant research projects:

• Critical perspectives on work integration of immigrants
• Organising for Outcome - Links between service integration and transitions to employment
• Welfare State Life Courses: Social Inequalities in the Co-evolution of Employment, Health and Critical Life Events (WELLIFE)
• Work inclusion in Norway: A scoping review

His collaborative work with researchers such as Åsmund Hermansen, Thomas Lorentzen, and Kjetil A. van der Wel demonstrates strong interdisciplinary connections across sociology, social policy, labor economics, and public health fields.