TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Majbouri, Mahdi
        TI  - Preferences and the Puzzle of Female Labor Force Participation
        PY  - 2025/Jun/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 17952
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp17952
        AB  - 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.
        KW  - Middle East and North Africa
KW  - preferences toward job attributes
KW  - labor supply
        ER  -