The Policy Center for the New South has recently launched a significant scholarly work entitled The Oxford Handbook of the Moroccan Economy, which serves as a crucial reference for understanding the profound economic transformation of Morocco over the decades. This event coincided with a two-day conference held in Rabat, attended by policymakers, researchers, and academicians dedicated to discussing the book's insights.
Published by Oxford University Press and co-edited by esteemed scholars Karim El Aynaoui and Arkebe Oqubay, this handbook is a collaborative effort involving 53 contributors who meticulously analyze Morocco’s economic evolution from 1960 to 2025 across 34 informative chapters. The presentation of the book took place at the Policy Center’s headquarters located on the campus of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), featuring sessions that highlighted the core themes and findings encapsulated within its pages.
Designed to be a fundamental reference manual, this volume provides a meticulously structured analytical framework that draws from extensive historical data, long-term economic trends, and well-articulated stylized facts. It delves into sectoral transformations and addresses the major public policy challenges that have significantly influenced Morocco’s economic journey.
During the launch event, El Aynaoui emphasized that the primary objective of the handbook is to refresh and consolidate the existing body of knowledge regarding Morocco’s economy. It aims to present a rigorous yet accessible synthesis that serves the needs of researchers, students, public decision-makers, and practitioners alike.
The editors highlight notable progress in Morocco’s economic landscape over the past several decades. From 1971 to 2024, the nation has experienced an average annual GDP growth rate of 4.13%, while GDP per capita has increased by an average of 2.33% per year. Life expectancy has also markedly improved, rising from 47 years in 1960 to an anticipated 73 years in 2025, with a significant reduction in the life expectancy gap between rural and urban populations.
Beyond these headline statistics, the handbook emphasizes the necessity of evaluating Morocco’s developmental trajectory through a more nuanced structural lens. This includes examining productivity dynamics, diversifying the productive base, enhancing job quality, bolstering technological capabilities, and implementing vital institutional reforms.
Furthermore, the text documents how Morocco has forged stronger global economic ties between 2000 and 2025, establishing new industrial hubs and creating a more resilient export framework, largely facilitated by trade agreements with both the European Union and the United States, alongside proactive economic diplomacy within Africa.
The book also highlights Morocco's increasing integration into global value chains, particularly in key sectors such as automotive and aerospace. This progress is supported by sustained foreign direct investment, significant infrastructure development, regulatory enhancements, and improved public policy coordination.
Despite these advancements, the handbook does not shy away from addressing persistent challenges. It notes that aggregate productivity gains have been modest, with uneven spillover effects across the economy, and that the anticipated benefits for domestic private investment, local innovation, and quality job creation have not fully materialized.
The editors assert that Morocco now faces a pivotal challenge that requires a new phase of transformation. This phase must prioritize the enhancement of productive capabilities, the reinforcement of domestic spillovers, investment in human capital and research, as well as efforts to broaden the impacts of structural changes.
Accessible for free through the Policy Center for the New South and Oxford University Press websites, this handbook aims to offer a balanced, evidence-based assessment designed to inform teaching, research, and public discourse regarding Morocco’s economic prospects.
As reported by northafricapost.com.
