@TechReport{iza:izadps:dp17952,
            	author={Majbouri, Mahdi},
            	title={Preferences and the Puzzle of Female Labor Force Participation},
            	year={2025},
	month={Jun},
            	institution={Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)},
            	address={Bonn},
            	type={IZA Discussion Paper},
            	number={17952},
            	url={https://www.iza.org/publications/dp17952},
	abstract={Women’s educational attainment has continuously increased across the Middle East, while fertility rates have declined substantially. Yet their labor force participation remains stubbornly low. To investigate this puzzle, I use a discrete choice experiment in Egypt that varies the gender composition of the work environment—a key but underexplored dimension. I find that men, who have final say over women’s work decisions, demand 77% higher wages for their wives if the job is in a mixed-gender setting. Since few workplaces are all-female and men can veto women’s employment, these findings help explain the persistently low female participation rate.},
	keywords={Middle East and North Africa;preferences toward job attributes;labor supply},
            }