Gender, Work Intensity, and Well-Being of Thai Home-Based WorkersFeminist Economics

Abstract: The contribution explores the time-use dimensions of the individual well-being of home-based workers in Thailand's urban squatter communities to demonstrate how time-use patterns provide information regarding individual experiences in performing economic activities that affect quality of life. The study focuses on two groups of home-based workers: the self-employed, and those who work for a contractor. Using an individual-level well-being index that takes into account income, the capabilities related to education, and work intensity, the authors examine by OLS and GME techniques the varied factors that affect the well-being of home-based workers. The findings show that women workers experience a higher incidence of work intensity and hence lower quality of life compared with men. A better understanding of the factors that promote or lower well-being can help policy-makers design more effective programs and economic and social policies.