ABSTRACT
After the initial successes of the three central Maghrebi countries and Libya
in macroeconomic stabilization, we have observed the attempted imple-
mentation of economic and administrative reforms since the 1980s in order
to liberalize the economic system and enter a phase of sustained growth
acceleration. The purpose of this chapter is to offer an analysis of the eco-
nomic situation and the state of reforms in the Maghreb, as well as the
region’s economic prospects. The first section presents its geography as a
unifying element of Maghrebi economies. Next, we analyze the development of its main economic features: growth, social indicators, development stra-
tegies, macroeconomic policies, and the foreign sector. Third, we examine
microeconomic reforms, which basically consist of internal and external
liberalization, privatization, and tax, administrative, and financial reforms.
In the last section, we draw some conclusions which highlight the fact that
the window of opportunity for implementing the reforms is narrow and that
it is urgent to accelerate them so as not to jeopardize the region’s credibility,
the sustainability of its macroeconomic stabilization, the consolidation of its productive integration with the European Union (EU), and the encouraging,
but fragile, economic growth acceleration of recent years.
