Economy

This Blog was originally published on ettg.eu Europe and North Africa are intensifying cooperation, driven by shared interests in renewable energy deployment, trade and industrialisation. This renewed focus is opening doors for deeper energy partnerships, including on green hydrogen, and offers North African countries new opportunities to expand into European markets. At the same time, it raises concerns about the uneven distribution of benefits and insufficient international f ...

This Paper was originally published on ettg.eu KEY MESSAGES1. Aligning climate and energy priorities for mutual benefit - North Africa’s solar and wind potential could help meet the EU’s decarbonisation and energy security goals. A longterm, equitable partnership integrating green industrialisation, energy market integration and climate resilience can deliver shared economic, environmental and geopolitical gains. 2. Transforming energy partnerships for a just transition - ...

This Paper was originally published on springer.com This study investigates the impact of female agricultural cooperatives on women’s empowerment in Morocco, with a focus on the rural Marrakech-Safi region. The research evaluates the effectiveness of these cooperatives in enhancing women’s empowerment through economic opportunities, participatory governance, and leadership roles. The Global Empowerment Index (GEI) was adopted to measure empowerment across five key dimensions: p ...

Les politiques industrielles semblent marquer leur retour, aussi bien dans les grandes puissances économiques que dans les pays émergents et en voie de développement, notamment après la pandémie de la Covid-19, l’accroissement des tensions géopolitiques et commerciales et les effets du changement climatique.L’Afrique n’est pas en reste, surtout qu’une prise de conscience des enjeux liés à la position continentale dans un monde multipolaire est en train de naître. Même au niveau de l ...

This Paper was originally published on atlanticcouncil.org Following a decade-long partnership, the Policy Center for the New South and the Atlantic Council have joined forces around a new program focused on the power of the Atlantic. This series of publications and webinars will focus both on opportunities and challenges around the basin.This brief, the inaugural of the series, by William Yancey Brown highlights the vast energy and mineral potential of the Atlantic O ...

President Donald Trump's "Reciprocal Tariff" policy, announced on April 2, 2025 (dubbed "Liberation Day"), represents one of the most significant shifts in U.S. trade policy in nearly a century. Trump’s policy imposes a baseline 10% tariff on all imports and additional country-specific tariffs that range from 10% to 50% for countries designated as having "non-reciprocal trading practices" with the U.S. These specific tariffs are determined based on each country’s bilateral trade bal ...

In 2000, The Economist dismissed Africa as the “Hopeless Continent”—a label reflecting a broader system of marginalization rooted in colonial legacy and post-Cold War neglect. This essay offers a realist reappraisal, arguing that Africa’s growing strategic relevance is not the result of benevolence, but of structural necessity.Amid a fracturing global order and the rise of transactional geopolitics under Trump 2.0’s Bessent Doctrine, Africa has become indispensable: rich in critical ...

This paper analyses the stabilization experience in the MENA region, focusing on Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Jordan over the past century. It seeks to answer the question: To what extent have these countries succeeded in achieving resilience to shocks and stresses? Key policy elements included significant fiscal adjustments—varying in scale across countries—and exchange rate developments supported by monetary policies aimed at combating inflationary pressures. The outcomes involved ...

This Paper was originally published on tandfonline.com This paper analyzes gender disparities in reading and mathematics among Moroccan 4th-grade students using data from PIRLS 2021 (7,017 students) and TIMSS 2019 (13,536 students). Using the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method, it separates performance gaps into explained (observable characteristics such as age, family background, teacher, and school factors) and unexplained (structural) components. In reading, the unexpl ...

This Paper was originally published on cebri.org Within an ever-evolving system of multilateral development banks (MDB) currently reshaped by four structural geo-economic trends, the emergence of new MDBs like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank (NDB) carries great geopolitical significance. Yet the new MDBs, attuned to institutional and operational realities, have not upended the MDB system. Their relationship with long-e ...

This Paper was originally published on springer.com Au Maroc, en plus de leurs missions religieuses, les mosquées jouent un rôle dans l’apprentissage qualifiant des adultes, favorisant ainsi leur intégration. L’article développe un indice à caractère économique pour évaluer cette intégration. Il mobilise des données ad hoc constituées par le suivi d’une cohorte de l’ensemble des 351 apprenantes pendant cinq ans et demi. Des résultats prometteurs témoignent d’un p ...

This study draws on academic and gray literature to identify the dynamics that facilitate the emergence and proliferation of armed groups and increase vulnerabilities to violent extremism (VE). Given the growing concerns about the spread of VE to northern Benin and the rising incidents of violence, it is crucial to address these underlying factors in order to bolster community cohesion and resilience to violent conflict-particularly against recruitment and influence by violent extre ...

The impacts of climate change are increasingly manifesting through severe and multifaceted loss and damage, particularly across vulnerable regions such as the Mediterranean. These impacts extend beyond environmental degradation, contributing to forced displacement, food insecurity, political instability, and the erosion of human rights and dignity. Furthermore, they reinforce structural inequalities between the Global North and South, thereby challenging global principles of climate ...

The late twentieth-century neoliberal experiment, imposed upon Latin America and Africa under the banner of the Washington Consensus, failed both economically and morally. Though it promised prosperity through deregulation, privatisation, and fiscal austerity, it delivered instead economic stagnation, rising inequality, and the systematic dismantling of the instruments of national development. This was not technocratic wisdom, but a project of ideological enforcement that subordinat ...

This paper aims to demonstrate how certain transformations in the international economy since the 1980s¾notably the globalization of firms and industries¾combined with a set of domestic challenges, disrupted the path of industrial and technological development that Brazil had pursued since the 1930s. In essence, growth strategies based on the scale of the domestic market ceased to be effective. The innovation and economic challenges the country now faces cannot be addressed without ...

This paper was originaly published on sciencedirect.com   This paper introduces a novel empirical approach, combining sigma convergence and sigma counterfactual statistics, to examine the dynamics of structural transformation in Morocco from 1990 to 2018. The findings reveal that Morocco experienced structural transformation driven by labor productivity reallocation across sectors during specific sub-periods (1991–1993, 1996–1997, and 1998–2003). However, this process ca ...

Last week marked my twenty-third consecutive week attending the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, DC. While I no longer participate in the official sessions, I continue to be invited to the many side conventions and debates that surround them. A key moment is always the release of the IMF's World Economic Outlook report. This year, it drew particular attention due to curiosity about how the institution would project the impacts of the tariff war initiated by Trump’s ...

This Opinion was originally published in Project Syndicate As the US-China rivalry intensifies, both powers are courting mineral-rich African countries in an effort to secure critical raw materials. Translating Africa's vast natural-resource wealth into lasting development requires an infrastructure-led strategy that delivers long-term value for local communities. ...

The author of this opinion, Danielle Alakija, is a 2024 alumna of the Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders Program. Once upon a time—or so the story went—the Global South was cast to the margins of the global development narrative. Assigned a supporting role in someone else’s story, it was exploited for its resources and subdued by the authoritative tone of external narrators. This image, painted in tones of crisis and dependency, continues to echo through textbooks and news cy ...

The author of this opinion, Isabela Carvalho, is a 2018 alumna of the Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders Program. In today’s interconnected world, knowledge plays a vital role in driving change and shaping solutions. Yet despite the rise of digital tools and global collaboration, persistent gaps in how knowledge is managed and shared continue to limit the Global South’s ability to fully harness its potential. Strengthening resilient knowledge ecosystems fosters inclusive ...

The United States is at a critical juncture, facing a pivotal dilemma: preserving global leadership in a world it no longer fully controls. While it proclaims its primacy in the liberal international order, its actions tell a different story—one marked by tariffs, reshoring policies, and an open attempt to contain China’s rise. This strategy is driven less by long-term vision than domestic political calculus, underscoring the urgent need for strategic recalibration. ...

This policy brief explores the transformative role of BRICS as a platform for Global South cooperation and an emerging alternative to Western-dominated governance frameworks. Established with a shared goal of reforming international institutions and addressing global decision-making imbalances, BRICS has evolved from an economic concept into a multifaceted alliance that spans finance, diplomacy, development, and security. As the global order shifts towards multipolarity, BRICS has p ...

The second Trump administration’s reversal of federal climate policy is reshaping the U.S. energy and industrial landscape, with significant implications for macroeconomic performance, clean technology competitiveness, and global climate cooperation. While the deregulatory shift and emphasis on fossil-fuel production may generate short-term output gains in selected sectors, the long-term structural transformation necessary for sustained growth in an increasingly low-carbon global ec ...

  Marcus Vinicius De Freitas Professor, China Foreign Affairs University Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South The Chinese government’s white paper, ‘China’s Position on Some Issues Concerning China-US Economic and Trade Relations,[1]’ issued on April 9, 2025, in response to the escalating tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, is not just a diplomatic response to the escalating tensions with the United States. It is a meticulously crafted strategic document th ...

This paper was originaly published on journals.aserspublishing.eu   This article aims to explore the impact of migrants’ remittances on life expectancy and mortality rate of adult women left behind in north African countries. The study contributes to the literature by highlighting how remittances can support the achievement of sustainable development goals. At the same time, it investigates the extent to which remittances may challenge social policies in these countries. ...

Ce commentaire a été publié initialement sur commentaire.fr   La question du protectionnisme ne date pas du retour triomphal de Donald Trump, ni même de sa première élection : elle hante la mondialisation depuis le début du xxie siècle. Le nouveau programme du Président américain oblige toutefois à y réfléchir plus attentivement qu’on ne l’a fait jusqu’à présent. C’est l’objet de cet article.   ...

When President Donald Trump gave his State of the Union address to a joint session of the United States Congress on March 4, 2025, many of his announced tariffs went into effect. These included a 25% levy on most goods imports from Canada (10% on oil and gas) and Mexico (though Trump subsequently exempted Canadian and Mexican imports that satisfy USMCA rules of origin requirements); and 20% (doubling the 10% implemented in February) on all imports from China. A 25% tariff has been i ...

The return of President Donald Trump could significantly impact macroeconomic policy in Africa. The effects may vary across the continent. Nations that remain neutral towards U.S. influence are likely to benefit, while those aligned with the U.S.'s rivals or lacking immediate economic advantages may be deprioritized in U.S. foreign policy. In this article, we examine the channels through which U.S. policies and the change in political discourse could affect macroeconomic policies in ...

MENA faces a severe water crisis, with 12 of the world’s 17 most water-stressed countries. Climate change, population growth, inefficient water management, and weak governance drive this challenge. Water production, treatment, and distribution require high energy inputs, while energy generation depends on water for cooling and refining. The region must integrate renewable energy, especially solar power, into water solutions like desalination. Inaction could shrink GDP by up to 14% ...

This Chapter was originally published on springer.comSo, this session really is about what's happened to global trade in the last couple of decades, of course, really since the global financial crisis, trade dependency has levelled off, peaking at around 60% in 2008, 2009.  ...

This paper (see pages: 152-164), included in the report 'The Reckoning Regression or Renaissance?' was originally published on orfonline.org   Calls for reforms of the International Financial Architecture (IFA) are foregrounded by the growing financing needs of developing countries, driven by mounting climate-related challenges; conflict and violence; rising numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs); and macroeconomic imbalances, including crippling debt service and ...

Le marché du travail marocain traverse des défis structurels majeurs, avec un taux de participation relativement faible (43,5 %) et encore plus marqué chez les femmes, dont la participation reste inférieure à 20 %. Le chômage, quant à lui, est élevé, particulièrement parmi les jeunes diplômés, atteignant 30 %, et une grande partie de l'emploi urbain se trouve dans le secteur informel, représentant entre 20 et 40 % des emplois. Ce marché est également marqué par des d ...

The traditional model of Official Development Assistance (ODA) has not only entrenched financial dependence but also served as a tool for geopolitical influence, often prioritizing donor interests over genuine economic self-sufficiency in developing nations. The 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) envisioned a shift towards private investment, but this strategy has largely failed. Capital flight, rising debt burdens, and systemic financial asymmetries have ensured that investm ...

This paper was originaly published on erf.org.eg   Youth's life paths have become increasingly challenging, especially for those classified as "Not in Education, Employment, or Training" (NEET), who comprise 31.2% of North Africa's youth population. The region faces high youth unemployment rates, with 22.3% in 2023, rising slightly to 22.5% in 2024, and projected to return to 22.3% in 2025 (ILO, 2024). Notably, North African youth not only exhibit the highest desire to m ...

Libya faces a paradox: it has a bloated public sector employing millions, yet a crippling unemployment crisis, especially among young people. According to the Libyan Audit Bureau’s 2023 report[1], over two million people work for the government, a figure that excludes state-owned enterprises such as oil companies, banks, and utilities companies. With a total labor force of 2.5 million[2], out of every ten Libyan adults, eight are employed by the government. This massive public workf ...

Chaque jour, en moyenne, les femmes marocaines consacrent près de cinq heures à des tâches domestiques (cuisine, ménage, courses, soins aux enfants, etc.). Elles assurent plus de 90 % du temps total consacré aux tâches domestiques par l’ensemble des hommes et des femmes. Ce travail non rémunéré représente des services indispensables qui participent au bien-être matériel des personnes et des foyers sans pour autant apparaître dans la production nationale, telle que mesur ...

The Policy Center for the New South (PCNS) has for over a decade advocated for the pooling of expertise, perspectives and resources to benefit developing nations, in Africa, around the South Atlantic and across the South. The need to take inspiration from one another and share analysis and good practices with each other is as pressing as it has ever been, as countries of the South strive to accumulate knowledge, capture value added and move up the value chain. Our center has notably ...

Africa First, But Africa Not Alone As the world grapples with economic fragmentation, geopolitical realignments, and an accelerating polycrisis, Africa finds itself at a historic crossroads. With its vast resources, demographic dynamism, and a growing consumer base, the continent has the potential to reshape global economic narratives. Yet, this potential remains constrained by inadequate infrastructure, limited access to global finance, and persistent structural vulnerabilities. I ...

Depuis 1956, l’économie égyptienne est en crise. Durant la période entre 1956 et 2024, elle a connu douze dévaluations et huit crises majeures de sa balance des paiements. Avec un déficit récurrent de sa balance courante, le pays est exposé au plus grand des risques : le risque souverain. Ce qui est une première faiblesse. Mais ce pays, qui a toujours réussi à s’épargner ce risque, témoigne aussi de certaines forces, ce qui constitue sa première force. De ce constat est ...

Pan-Atlantic cooperation is inspired by the opportunity to foster rising, widespread, and sustainable prosperity across Atlantic Basin societies, particularly in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The key to unlocking this potential lies in deepening the Atlantic Basin’s already high level of intra-regional economic interdependence (when viewed as a single regional entity) and leveraging the untapped complementary opportunities within and across the Southern Atlantic. ...

This Opinion was originally published in Project Syndicate   As the world prepares for COP30 in Belém, Brazil, African countries have an opportunity to advocate for equitable carbon-pricing mechanisms that align climate action with sustainable development. While cutting emissions is important, so, too, is ensuring fairness and equity for the communities most vulnerable to climate change. ...

This Opinion was originally published in Project Syndicate   In today's global economy, developing countries must embrace a new policy framework that strengthens their macroeconomic resilience, harnesses technology for productivity growth, and fosters growth and structural transformation. None of this will be possible with an "every country for itself" mentality. ...

As geopolitical competition among superpowers intensifies, fragmenting the global economy and financial system, the role of middle powers has attracted much attention from policymakers and analysts. While there is no generally agreed list of middle powers, the term is intuitively understandable and has been used widely as referring to countries ranked below a handful of great powers, but significant enough to be able to act in response to external stimuli with some agency and with s ...

This study evaluates the economic costs for three Egyptian coastal cities of catastrophic flooding resulting from either sea-level rise or intense rainfall. Using a computable general equilibrium (CGE) framework, we assess the higher-order impacts of physical capital loss on both regional and national economies. Leveraging global flood hazard maps for various scenarios and return periods, and a 100-meter-resolution buildings-exposure model, which estimates the replacement value of r ...

This paper, included in the report "Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politics.", was originally published on:https://cebri.org/en/doc/356/cebri-and-rio-g20-committee-publish-urban-sustainable-development-governance-finance-and-politics  © Vormittag, Pedro, Marianna Albuquerque & Eugénie Birch (Eds.). 2024. Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politics. Rio de Janeiro: CEBRI.   The article discusses the role of sustainable and ...

This paper (see pages: 181-186), included in the report 'Foresight Africa - Top Priorities for the Continent 2025-2030,' was originally published on brookings.edu   In an increasingly fragmented world grappling with common challenges such as the global climate crisis, the Atlantic Ocean can be leveraged for Africa’s climate action, continental integration, contribution to the provision of global public goods, development, improved participation to the global economy, int ...

This paper, included in the report "Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politics.", was originally published on:https://cebri.org/en/doc/356/cebri-and-rio-g20-committee-publish-urban-sustainable-development-governance-finance-and-politics  © Vormittag, Pedro, Marianna Albuquerque & Eugénie Birch (Eds.). 2024. Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politics. Rio de Janeiro: CEBRI.   Sustainable urban development is vital for Africa, ...