The well-being of industrial workers: A quantitative assessment of the Dominican case

This paper examines the influence of gender and industrial employment on two dimensions of well-being. An analysis based on the 1996 DHS survey showed the non-significant effects of the two variables on material wealth and housing quality. Key factors in increasing household well-being were urban location, household labor, and education. Urban location showed the largest positive effect on well-being. The Chi-square test showed a significant relationship between free trade zone employment and access to durable goods (P ≤ 0.5). These findings show the larger impact of specific demographic conditions on women's well-being, favoring contextual analysis over exploitation and opportunity frameworks.