Preferences and the Puzzle of Female Labor Force Participation

Mahdi Majbouri ()
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Mahdi Majbouri: Babson College

No 17952, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

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 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J21 J29 J49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-06
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