STRUCTURE INDUSTRIELLE, ÉCONOMIES D’AGGLOMERATION, OUVERTURE ET CROISSANCE RÉGIONALE EN TUNISIE

The purpose of this paper is to explain the regional growth of industrial employment in Tunisia between 2000 and 2005. Based on the contributions of the new economic geography and the empirical findings dealing with agglomeration economies and dynamic externalities in the wake of Glaeser et al. (1992), an econometric model is estimated which allows to take into account the initial size and industrial structure of regions, as well as the effect of economic openness in Tunisia. The results show on the one hand that a competitive environment of small firms and a diversity of industrial activities are favourable to regional growth. On the other hand, the agglomeration forces and Foreign Direct Investment play an important role in coastal areas, but do not prevent the appearance of convergence between regions.