Labor market policies and unemployment in Morocco : a quantitative analysis

The authors study the impact of labor market policies on unemployment in Morocco. They begin by reviewing the main features of the labor market. Then they present a quantitative framework that captures many of these features-such as a large public sector, high redundancy payments, powerful trade unions, and international labor migration. The authors simulate the impact of a cut in the minimum wage and a reduction in payroll taxation. The results indicate that these policies may have a significant impact in the short term on open unskilled unemployment. But they also show that labor market reforms, to be effective in the long run, may need to be accompanied by offsetting changes in the budget to avoid crowding-out effects on private investment.Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Policies,Labor Markets,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Markets,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Financial Management,Poverty Assessment

Roads out of poverty? assessing the links between aid, public investment, growth, and poverty reduction

The authors develop a macroeconomic framework that captures links between aid, public investment, growth, and poverty. Public investment is disaggregated into education, infrastructure, and health, and affects both aggregate supply and demand. Dutch disease effects are captured by accounting for changes in the relative price of domestic goods. The authors assess the impact of policy shocks on poverty by linking the model to a household survey. They calibrate the model for Ethiopia and simulate the changes in the allocation of aid and public investment. The authors also calculate the amount by which foreign aid should increase to reach the poverty targets of the Millennium Development Goals.Decentralization,Economic Theory&Research,Labor Policies,Environmental Economics&Policies,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Inequality,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Economic Stabilization,Banks&Banking Reform

Les déterminants des exportations du Maroc : une investigation empirique sur données de panel.

This paper assesses, using a panel data model, the determinants of Morocco’s exports. Estimates are conducted for 9 different categories of products. The model takes into account observed and non-observed individual heterogeneity. The results show that for most of the groups of exported products, their volume is positively linked to the income of Morocco's main trading partners while it is negatively affected by an appreciation of the real exchange rate

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Sub-Saharan Africa : a macroeconomic monitoring framework

The authors present an integrated macroeconomic approach to monitoring progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Sub-Saharan Africa. At the heart of their approach is a macroeconomic model that captures key linkages between foreign aid, public investment (disaggregated into education, infrastructure, and health), the supply side, and poverty. The model is linked through cross-section regressions to indicators of malnutrition, infant mortality, life expectancy, and access to safe water. A composite MDG indicator is also calculated. The functioning of the framework is illustrated by simulating the impact of an increase in aid and a debt write-off for Niger at the MDG horizon of 2015, under alternative assumptions about the degree of efficiency of public investment. The authors'approach can serve as the building block of Strategy Papers for Human Development (SPAHD), a more encompassing concept than the current"Poverty Reduction"Strategy Papers.Economic Theory&Research,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Inequality,Investment and Investment Climate,Achieving Shared Growth

Les déterminants des exportations du Maroc : une investigation empirique sur données de panel.

This paper assesses, using a panel data model, the determinants of Morocco’s exports. Estimates are conducted for 9 different categories of products. The model takes into account observed and non-observed individual heterogeneity. The results show that for most of the groups of exported products, their volume is positively linked to the income of Morocco's main trading partners while it is negatively affected by an appreciation of the real exchange rate

Introduction: Africa, Latin America and the “Asian century”

Since the eighties, the centre of the international system’s economic, political and cultural power has shifted from the West towards Asia-Pacific. Countries such as China and India are consolidating themselves as economic powers seeking new routes for investment flows and development cooperation. The positions of Africa and Latin America in this process have been little studied. This is the objective of this issue: to investigate – in the context of Asian expansion and investment (above all that of China) – the extent to which the two regions maintain bilateral relations (cooperative and/or competitive) and may be able to formulate their own development and foreign policy initiatives. The articles in this issue pay particular attention to South-South cooperation between Latin America and Africa and include underexplored aspects such as migration patterns and the competition between China and regional powers such as Brazil and South Africa

Agricultural Cooperatives’ Sustainability and the Relevance of Start-Up Support Programs: Evidence from Cooperatives’ Level in Morocco

The Moroccan agricultural cooperative sector is a key player in self-employment and income generation through territorial anchoring. The government’s “MOURAFAKA” program offers support for newly created cooperatives, including strategic diagnosis and training. This paper analyzes the impact of the MOURAFAKA program on the sustainability of agricultural cooperatives in Morocco. Using original data from a survey of 232 cooperatives and a second database of 1131 cooperatives, the study employs a methodology based on survival function analysis and Cox regression. The results show that the MOURAFAKA program improves the sustainability of agricultural cooperatives by strengthening their management, governance, and market access capabilities. The study also highlights the importance of internal factors such as management skills, leadership style, and cooperative size, as well as external factors such as strategic adaptability, in determining the sustainability of agricultural cooperatives. The policy implications of these findings suggest that upstream literacy programs and capacity-building initiatives for cooperative leaders, as well as downstream access to financing, marketing, and practical training, are crucial for ensuring the sustainability of cooperatives

Politiques du marché du travail et chômage au Maroc : une analyse quantitative

labor markets, general equilibrium models, minimum wage

Excess liquidity, bank pricing rules, and monetary policy

This paper studies the implications of excess bank liquidity for the effectiveness of monetary policy in a simple model with credit market imperfections. The demand for excess reserves is determined by precautionary factors and the opportunity cost of holding cash. It is argued that excess liquidity may impart greater stickiness to the deposit rate in response to a monetary contraction and induce an easing of collateral requirements on borrowers - which in turn may translate into a lower risk premium and lower lending rates. As a result, asymmetric bank pricing behavior under excess liquidity may hamper the ability of a contractionary monetary policy to lower inflation.Excess liquidity Bank interest rates Monetary policy

Labor market policies and unemployment in Morocco : a quantitative analysis

Pierre-Richard Agenor; Karim El Aynaou