Employment and labour markets in the Dominican Republic

This article reviews the literature on employment, wages and the labour markets in the Dominican Republic. Although this will primarily be of interest to economists, it may also be useful to social scientists in general and to those responsible for formulating policies affecting the functioning of the labour market at both the national and the Latin American regional level. The study begins by presenting the main sources of statistical information on labour, after which it focuses on studies on the overall functioning of the Dominican labour market. It then goes on to deal with studies exploring specific labour markets, such as those for microentrepreneurs and women, and the literature on wages. This review reveals that there are few studies carried out with scientific precision and aimed at economic aspects proper: most of the studies are of a descriptive, sociological or multidisciplinary nature. The article concludes with some proposals for possible lines of future research in this field, especially the analysis of the existing labour statistics and the establishment of a suitable system for their collection and dissemination.