Over twenty-five years Morocco built an automotive and aeronautics export base largely from scratch, expanded renewables, and positioned itself as a bridge between Europe and Africa — while still struggling with low female labor-force participation, weak educational outcomes, and a growth rate that has not delivered the convergence the country hoped for.
Karim El Aynaoui, former Director of Economics at Bank Al-Maghrib and co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of the Moroccan Economy, joins the Growth Lab for a candid accounting: which industrial policies paid off, which did not and why, and what Morocco’s experience offers other middle-income economies attempting the same climb.
Speaker: Karim El Aynaoui, Executive President of the Policy Center for the New South, Executive Vice-President of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University
Whether attending in person or virtually, please register in advance. Room attendance is permitted for the Harvard community. Lunch will be served. The Zoom session is open to the public.
Speaker Bio: Karim El Aynaoui is Executive President of the Policy Center for the New South. He is also Executive Vice-President of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and Dean of its Humanities, Economics and Social Sciences Cluster.
From 2005 to 2012, he worked at the Central Bank of Morocco (Bank Al-Maghrib) as Director of Economics, Statistics, and International Relations. He also created and headed the Research Department and served as a member of the Governor’s Cabinet. Previously, he worked for eight years at the World Bank as an economist for its regional units of the Middle East and North Africa and Africa.
Karim El Aynaoui has published books and journal articles on macroeconomic issues in developing countries. He has co-authored works on growth and the labor market in Morocco and has recently co-edited a book entitled The Oxford Handbook of the Moroccan Economy.
Karim El Aynaoui holds scientific and advisory positions in several institutions. He is currently a member of Malabo Montpellier Panel, the Scientific Committee of The Italian Institute for International Political Studies, the Advisory Committee of The World Bank’s Institute for Economic Development, the Scientific Council of The Moroccan Capital Market Authority, the International Board of Med-Or Italian Foundation, and a global member of The Trilateral Commission. He also serves as advisor to the CEO and Chairman of OCP Group and is a board member of OCP Foundation.
Karim El Aynaoui holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Bordeaux where he taught courses in Statistics and Economics for three years. He is Commendatore of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
The Growth Lab’s “Development Talks” is a series of conversations with policymakers and academics working on economic growth and development in countries, regions, states, and cities in the US and around the world. The seminar provides a platform for practitioners and researchers to discuss both economic growth and development and analytical work centered on policy.
Speakers and Presenters
Karim El Aynaoui, Executive President of the Policy Center for the New South, Executive Vice-President of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University
Facts Only
* Morocco built an automotive and aeronautics export base over twenty-five years.
* Morocco expanded renewables.
* Morocco positioned itself as a bridge between Europe and Africa.
* Challenges include low female labor-force participation, weak educational outcomes, and growth rates not achieving desired convergence.
* Karim El Aynaoui is the Executive President of the Policy Center for the New South and Executive Vice-President of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University.
* El Aynaoui worked at the Central Bank of Morocco (Bank Al-Maghrib) from 2005 to 2012.
* El Aynaoui worked for eight years at the World Bank as an economist for regional units of the Middle East and North Africa and Africa.
* El Aynaoui holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Bordeaux.
* El Aynaoui is a member of several advisory bodies, including the Malabo Montpellier Panel and the Scientific Committee of The Italian Institute for International Political Studies.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The narrative presents a tension between historical economic achievement (export base development) and ongoing structural impediments (labor participation, education, growth convergence). The introduction positions El Aynaoui as an expert capable of dissecting industrial policy effectiveness in the context of Middle-Income economies. This framing subtly suggests that Morocco's experience offers transferable lessons for other nations facing similar developmental hurdles, which is a common pattern in development discourse. The implication for critical analysis rests on assessing whether the historical success narratives are being used to mask systemic policy failures rather than offering actionable reform blueprints. The structure sets up a framework where deep structural issues are implicitly linked to specific economic decisions made over time.
What assumptions underlie the presentation of Morocco's experience as a model? Who benefits from positioning a nation’s trajectory as an example for others climbing the growth ladder? How does focusing on industrial policy outcomes inadvertently steer attention away from the underlying social and educational deficits that impede convergence? What would it take to shift the focus from retrospective accounting (what paid off) to prospective intervention (what must be done)?