Is There a New Vision for Maghreb Economic Integation? Volume 1. Main Report
This report on the new vision for Magreb economic integration argues that assessing the benefits from regional integration can best be done in the context of the broader issues of economic integration in the world economy and more specifically with...
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| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2014
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2006/11/7410459/new-vision-maghreb-economic-integation-vol-1-2-main-report http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19630 |
| Summary: | This report on the new vision for Magreb
economic integration argues that assessing the benefits from
regional integration can best be done in the context of the
broader issues of economic integration in the world economy
and more specifically with the main trading partner, the
European Union. Based on empirical evidence the paper finds
that there is limited potential for intraregional
merchandise trade integration in the Maghreb. The report
also alerts that benefits from deeper economic integration
are no means automatic. Several worldwide studies have
argued that weaknesses in the investment climate not only
hinder a country's imports and inward foreign direct
investment, they also deter exports from enterprises
operating in the domestic economy (World Bank, 2005).
Service liberalization requires complementary policies and
effective regulation, ranging from prudential regulation to
pro-competitive regulation in telecommunications. The
concluding message emerging from the analysis is that a
strategy focusing on service sector and investment climate
reforms aimed at facilitating market competition and
contestability would improve growth, trade and investment
performance in the Maghreb, bringing greater economic gains
than would be derived from merchandise trade liberalization
alone. The report is structured as follows. The first
chapter examines the prospects of regional integration based
on merchandise trade liberalization. It does so by
performing a detailed quantitative analysis of
Maghreb's trade and investment patterns and
performance. The chapter also assesses Maghreb
countries' trade and investment potential, drawing on
panel trade and investment gravity models. The second
chapter identifies policy barriers, relative performance and
progress made by Maghreb countries in investment climate and
service sector policy reforms. To allow for cross-country
comparability, the report draws on the methodology developed
by the European Central Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) to construct policy reform indexes for
the Maghreb countries. The third chapter aims at estimating
the economic gains from deeper and wider integration. The
final section of the report summarizes the main conclusions
and policy implications drawn from the analysis. |
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