Economic Integration in the Maghreb: An Untapped Source of Growth
Departmental Papers, February 13, 2019
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- Economic Integration in the Maghreb: An Untapped Source of Growth
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Alexei P Kireyev, Boaz Nandwa, Lorraine Ocampos, Babacar Sarr, Ramzy Al Amine, Allan G Auclair, Yufei Cai, Jean-Francois Dauphin
- Published: February 13, 2019
- Series: Departmental Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781484378373.087
Summary findings
- Individual countries of the Maghreb have achieved substantial progress on trade.
- As a region the Maghreb remains the least integrated in the world.
- The share of intraregional trade is less than 5 percent of their total trade.
- Intraregional trade in the Maghreb is substantially lower than in all other regional trading blocs around the world.
Constraints to regional integration
- Geopolitical considerations have stifled regional integration.
- Restrictive economic policies have stifled regional integration.
- Economic policies have been guided by country-level considerations, with little attention to the region, and are not coordinated.
- Restrictions on trade and capital flows remain substantial and constrain regional integration for the private sector.
Implications for policy and private sector engagement
- The lack of coordination of country-level economic policies implies limited regional focus in policy design and implementation.
- Substantial restrictions on trade and capital flows represent binding constraints to the private sector’s ability to integrate regionally.