Economic Development in the Maghreb States in the Context of their Relations with the EU

This paper examines a number of key factors that have an impact on economic development in the Maghreb. While growth indicators have been favorable in recent years, a consideration of the inequitable distribution of wealth and the precarious employment situation paint a different picture. Furthermore, the Maghreb economies have remained over-regulated and plagued by a host of structural constraints, prominent among which is the excessive role of the state. The record of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership has also been mixed. Critics have stated that it is compromised by turf battles within the EU, which render it incapable of providing the right solutions for the Maghreb states’ problems. The paper argues that a failure to tackle agriculture as an issue of prime importance for poverty reduction may exacerbate present inequalities and social imbalances in the Maghreb.