%0 Report
        %A Majbouri, Mahdi
        %T Preferences and the Puzzle of Female Labor Force Participation
        %D 2025
        %8 2025 Jun
        %I Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        %C Bonn
        %7 IZA Discussion Paper
        %N 17952
        %U https://www.iza.org/publications/dp17952
        %X 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.
        %K Middle East and North Africa
%K preferences toward job attributes
%K labor supply