Public investments in Morocco: a tool for development or a factor in reproducing underdevelopment?

Investissements publics au Maroc: un outil de développement ou un facteur de reproduction du sous-développement ?

Ayoub Bourass and Naima Aba
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Ayoub Bourass: FSJES - Faculté des Sciences Juridiques, Economique et Sociales de Mohammedia - UH2C - Université Hassan II de Casablanca = University of Hassan II Casablanca = جامعة الحسن الثاني (ar)
Naima Aba: FSTM - Faculte des sciences et Techniques [Mohammedia] - UH2C - Université Hassan II de Casablanca = University of Hassan II Casablanca = جامعة الحسن الثاني (ar)

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Abstract: This study examines the determinants of Morocco's persistent underdevelopment despite substantial public investments made since independence. By comparing the Moroccan trajectory with those of South Korea and Taiwan, the article highlights a fundamental asymmetry between quantitative accumulation and structural transformation. The retrospective analysis, covering the period 1960-2000, reveals an agro-export model centered on hydraulic investment, devoid of land reform and industrial strategy, whose benefits have been captured by a narrow landed elite. The examination of post-2000 strategies, whether industrial, agricultural or energy-related, confirms this inertia. Despite colossal expenditures, job creation, sectoral value added and total factor productivity remain significantly below the stated objectives. External financial dependency has increased, while the hypertrophy of public investment crowds out private initiative without generating efficiency. The study identifies two major failings, namely a skewed allocation favoring physical infrastructure at the expense of human capital, as well as a disconnect between institutional sophistication and productive outcomes. The article concludes on the necessity of a radical inversion of priorities, consisting in investing in education, innovation and research to break with a statism devoid of industrial direction and distributive justice, these investments constituting the sole conditions for sustainable endogenous transformation.

Keywords: capital public; capital humain; Infrastructure publique; économie industrielle; accumulation du capital; sous-développement; développement économique; investissement public (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-06-18
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05663994v1
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Published in Revue marocaine des sciences politiques et sociales, 2026, 42 (2), pp.75-114. ⟨10.5281/zenodo.20773677⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05663994

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20773677

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