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11. Structural change and the National Initiative for Human Development in Morocco

Author:
Al-mouksit Akim and Wissal Sahel
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
This paper aims to revisit the pace and patterns of structural change in Morocco with a renewed perspective focusing on subnational trends to document the macro patterns. In that perspective, we first build a within-country sectoral longitudinal dataset covering employment and value added (VA) that expands the international databases mostly used in the literature. Based on this novel dataset, our results shed light on the different contributions of subnational units (regions) to labour productivity growth and, subsequently, structural change. Taking advantage of this novel dataset, we use an instrumental variable (IV) strategy to estimate the impact of the National Initiative for Human Development (NIHD) programme on labour productivity growth and both of its components: the between (structural change) and the within components. We find that the NIHD programme positively affects productivity growth overall, mainly through structural change. The results are driven by urban areas and the participation of local actors such as associations or cooperatives in the management of NIHD projects.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Economy, Human Development, Productivity, and Structural Transformation
Political Geography:
North Africa and Morocco

12. Why Morocco’s Youth Employment Policies Continue to Fail

Author:
Ismail Ait Bassou
Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:
Although Morocco has launched several programs designed to provide job opportunities for young people, youth unemployment rates remain high. This paper argues these programs have proven ineffective and are compounded by an unsustainable business environment, and presents some recommendations to ensure the planned reforms in the youth employment sector deliver on what they promise.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Employment, Youth, and Job Creation
Political Geography:
Africa and Morocco

13. EU Energy Security & the Maghreb

Author:
Intissar Fakir and Alberto Rizzi
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Middle East Institute (MEI)
Abstract:
North Africa and the Sahel Program Director Intissar Fakir speaks to Alberto Rizzi - pan-European fellow at the Rome Office of the European Council on Foreign Relations - about existing and future energy partnerships between the European Union and the Maghreb. In the wake of energy market disruption caused by the conflict in Ukraine, what alternative fuel sources are the EU looking towards - and how does this align with current production capacities in Maghreb countries?
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, European Union, Energy, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Europe, North Africa, and Morocco

14. Morocco and North Africa Are Feeling Anti-Normalization Ripples from the Gaza War

Author:
Sabina Henneberg
Publication Date:
10-2023
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
The conflict will make it more difficult for Washington and Israel to preserve—let alone expand—the diplomatic progress they have made with North African governments in recent years, particularly as public opposition intensifies. North Africa has not been spared from the reverberations of the Hamas-Israel war. Morocco may be the country most profoundly affected given its relatively strong relations with Israel and the United States, while anti-normalization trends elsewhere in the region are being firmly reinforced, creating new challenges for Washington.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Public Opinion, Conflict, Normalization, and Hamas
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Gaza, North Africa, and Morocco

15. Are Global Value Chains for Sale? On Business-State Relations in the MENA Region

Author:
Nora Aboushady and Chahir Zaki
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:
We use new data on political connections from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys to examine the impact of connections on firms’ participation in global value chains (GVCs) for six MENA countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, and Lebanon). In addition to political connections, we construct several measures of “political influence” based on available data on lobbying and grand corruption. We also explore whether political connections help firms overcome barriers to trade and investment and increase their participation in GVCs at the extensive and intensive margins. Our findings suggest that political connections do matter for firms’ GVC participation. The impact is more pronounced for firms that combine political connections with informal payments to influence policymaking. Our findings on the significance of trade and investment barriers for GVC participation for different categories of firms’ political influence are – however – inconclusive.
Topic:
Corruption, Development, Politics, World Bank, Business, Investment, Trade, and Global Value Chains
Political Geography:
Middle East, Palestine, Gaza, North Africa, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, and West Bank

16. Morocco Country Report 2021-2022

Author:
Arab Barometer
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Arab Barometer
Abstract:
Since the pandemic hit Morocco in March 2020, the country has been facing crises on multiple fronts, including the public health crisis, the economic crisis, inflation, and the historic drought. Internationally, Morocco made several diplomatic gains in the wake of the United States’ recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. In an historic reversal of its previous stance, Spain declared that the Moroccan autonomy plan is “the most serious, realistic and credible” solution to the crisis. Multiple other countries opened consulates in Western Sahara.1 2 Moroccans express a great deal of awareness towards these crises, and many recognize the impacts on their daily lives. Nonetheless, not all Moroccans view the current situation in the country through a similar lens. As opposed to the 2018 fifth wave of Arab Barometer surveys where Moroccans were often divided in their views by age, it appears that the effect of these recent events has been to divide Moroccans by socio-economic status to a greater extent. Often, wealthier and more educated Moroccans have a different outlook on the country than those whose income cannot cover their expenses and those with only a high school education or less. The former have a better outlook on Morocco. They express more economic safety and are less likely to be critical of the current situation in their country. The latter are a bit more skeptical, instead expressing more economic frustration and are more willing to criticize many aspects of life in the North African kingdom.
Topic:
International Relations, Corruption, Environment, Gender Issues, Migration, Public Opinion, Democracy, Economy, Discrimination, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
North Africa and Morocco

17. E-Commerce and the Digital Economy in Morocco, a Factor of Social Inclusivity and Employment: Context, Approach and Limits

Author:
Youssef Tobi
Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
IEMed/EuroMeSCo
Abstract:
The Moroccan job market offers few opportunities for young non-educated Moroccans. With the rise of the Internet, many Moroccans sought to find new ways to generate an income and find financial stability. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a rise of Moroccan entrepreneurs in e-commerce and dropshipping and a dramatic increase of motivational and educational content that aims at encouraging more people to seek this type of career. This phenomenon is not well studied, and the link between the rise of digital jobs in Morocco and social inclusiveness is even less explored. In this paper, Youssef Tobi aims to interview dropshippers and other e-commerce professionals to establish the link between the rise of digital jobs and social inclusivity, given that Moroccans who seek this type of professional pathways are often unemployed and come from lower social classes.
Topic:
Digital Economy, Labor Market, E-Commerce, Economic Inclusion, and Jobs
Political Geography:
North Africa and Morocco

18. Cooperation on Readmission in the Euro-Mediterranean Area and Beyond: Lessons Learned and Unlearned

Author:
Jean-Pierre Cassarino, Lorenzo Gabrielli, and Delphine Perrin
Publication Date:
04-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
IEMed/EuroMeSCo
Abstract:
This joint policy study examines the European Union’s (EU) readmission system in the context of the Euro-Mediterranean and Euro-African regions and its impact on interstate cooperation, human rights observance, and migrants’ conditions. The authors suggest rethinking how these issues are tackled by emphasising that asymmetrical patterns of cooperation on readmission result not only from unequal costs and benefits but also from meaningful relations between state actors. The study discusses how cooperation on readmission between EU and non-EU countries in the Mediterranean and Africa has altered patterns of interdependence and interactions beyond migration governance. It explores how informalisation has been presented as a solution to uncertainties, with some non-EU countries expressing their own reverse conditionalities and reveals the limits of international cooperation on readmission. The study analyses the case of Morocco, which has become a crucial player in controlling migration between Europe and Africa, and how it has skilfully leveraged its cooperation with the EU to achieve its own goals. It advocates for a more balanced approach to migration management that takes into account human rights and the need for formal migration pathways. It looks into the negative effects of intra-African expulsions on migrants’ human rights and the safety of people on the move and discusses how the physical obstacles to mobility have resulted in violence and social instability, which has led to less safe, orderly, and regular migration within Africa.
Topic:
Human Rights, Migration, Regional Cooperation, Governance, and European Union
Political Geography:
North Africa, Morocco, and Mediterranean

19. Fighting to Exist: LGBTQ Organizations in the Maghreb

Author:
Matthew Jones
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar brought renewed attention and increased dialogue to LGBTQ rights in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).[1] While much of the Western world has either provided legal protections for the community or, at the very least, decriminalized same-sex relations, this is not the case in most of the Islamic world. The region hosts most of the world’s restrictions concerning same-sex relations and gender expression. In the MENA, only Israel, Jordan, Turkey, and Bahrain have decriminalized same-sex relations. Despite no legal restrictions in these states, discrimination is still prevalent. Additionally, out of the eleven states that maintain the death penalty that could be applied to same-sex relations, five are in the MENA region. The remainder of MENA states impose sentences ranging from six months to life imprisonment.[2] Naturally, the primary goal of the LGBTQ civil society organizations in the region is to address the criminal status of same-sex relations. The following article addresses various LGBTQ civil society organizations in North Africa. The groups examined are not exhaustive of the activism in the region. Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco are essential cases used to examine the dynamics of LGBTQ activist groups. Each of the three states possesses some similarities, such as geographical location, majority Arab Muslim populations, and French colonial histories. Likewise, the punishments for committing same-sex acts are comparable. In Tunisia, convictions can result in a maximum sentence of three years. The same punishment is held in Morocco with an additional fine of up to 1000 Moroccan Dirham (approximately 100 USD).[3] Algeria maintains a slightly less severe punishment, with a maximum of two years imprisonment.[4] The leading distinction between each state is the restrictions placed upon groups by their respective governments.
Topic:
Civil Society, LGBT+, and Identity
Political Geography:
North Africa and Morocco

20. Participatory Interfaith Dialogue: The Keys to Addressing People’s Needs in Morocco

Author:
Yossef Ben-Meir
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
Twenty-nine years ago, I was a Peace Corps Volunteer living in a mountainous High Atlas village called Amsouzerte, near the southern side of Morocco’s Toubkal National Park. Back then, the journey from the village to the nearest city center took almost 20 hours along unpaved roads and mountain passes. At the foot of a mountainside, fifty kilometers from Amsouzerte, I would sometimes catch sight of an old, white mausoleum that seemed misplaced among the earth-brick homes characteristic of rural Moroccan landscapes. Looking upon this eroding mountain area, I could envision huge swaths of terraces constructed above the mausoleum for the local Muslim community to build tree nurseries and derive generational benefits. Tree nurseries are very valuable for Moroccan farming communities because 70 percent of agricultural land[1] in the country generates only 10-15 percent of agricultural revenue. Fruit tree cultivation allows farming families to transition from less lucrative barley and corn crops and generate higher income.[2]
Topic:
Civil Society, Religion, Services, and Dialogue
Political Geography:
North Africa and Morocco