Trade reform and the poor in Morocco: a rural-urban general equilibrium analysis of reduced protection

Morocco is currently about to start reducing industrial protection in the context of its association agreement with the European Union. However, agriculture, which represents the major income source for the disfavored rural population, is the sector that is most strongly protected. In this study, a...

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Autor principal: Lofgren, Hans
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 1999
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161363
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author Lofgren, Hans
author_browse Lofgren, Hans
author_facet Lofgren, Hans
author_sort Lofgren, Hans
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Morocco is currently about to start reducing industrial protection in the context of its association agreement with the European Union. However, agriculture, which represents the major income source for the disfavored rural population, is the sector that is most strongly protected. In this study, a general equilibrium model of Morocco is used as a laboratory for analyzing the short-run equilibrium effects of alternative scenarios for reduced protection for agriculture and industry. The model, which is calibrated to a Social Accounting Matrix for 1994, is distinguished by an explicit separation of activities, factors, and households into rural and urban. It has a detailed treatment of agricultural and other rural production, the labor market, and households (disaggregated into four types: rural poor, rural non-poor, urban poor, urban non-poor). The simulation results indicate that reduced agricultural protection would generate significant aggregate welfare gains at the same time a significant part of the disadvantaged rural population would lose strongly. The impact of industrial tariff cuts is small. The outcome is less unfavorable for rural households over a slightly longer time frame where labor migration between agriculture, the rest of the rural economy and urban areas is feasible. The results for simulations that introduce compensatory measures targeting the rural population suggest that the dilemma presented by the tradeoff between aggregate and rural welfare can be overcome: in simulations introducing trade liberalization together with government transfers to owners of rainfed agricultural resources, or moderate improvements in rural skill levels or productivity in rural non-agriculture, the gains from trade liberalization are shared relatively evenly among all household groups.
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spelling CGSpace1613632025-11-06T06:39:17Z Trade reform and the poor in Morocco: a rural-urban general equilibrium analysis of reduced protection Lofgren, Hans social impact assessment equilibrium theory welfare economics tariffs mathematical models trade liberalization Morocco is currently about to start reducing industrial protection in the context of its association agreement with the European Union. However, agriculture, which represents the major income source for the disfavored rural population, is the sector that is most strongly protected. In this study, a general equilibrium model of Morocco is used as a laboratory for analyzing the short-run equilibrium effects of alternative scenarios for reduced protection for agriculture and industry. The model, which is calibrated to a Social Accounting Matrix for 1994, is distinguished by an explicit separation of activities, factors, and households into rural and urban. It has a detailed treatment of agricultural and other rural production, the labor market, and households (disaggregated into four types: rural poor, rural non-poor, urban poor, urban non-poor). The simulation results indicate that reduced agricultural protection would generate significant aggregate welfare gains at the same time a significant part of the disadvantaged rural population would lose strongly. The impact of industrial tariff cuts is small. The outcome is less unfavorable for rural households over a slightly longer time frame where labor migration between agriculture, the rest of the rural economy and urban areas is feasible. The results for simulations that introduce compensatory measures targeting the rural population suggest that the dilemma presented by the tradeoff between aggregate and rural welfare can be overcome: in simulations introducing trade liberalization together with government transfers to owners of rainfed agricultural resources, or moderate improvements in rural skill levels or productivity in rural non-agriculture, the gains from trade liberalization are shared relatively evenly among all household groups. 1999 2024-11-21T09:55:11Z 2024-11-21T09:55:11Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161363 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/156700 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Lofgren, Hans. 1999. Trade reform and the poor in Morocco;a rural-urban general equilibrium analysis of reduced protection. TMD Discussion Paper 38. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161363
spellingShingle social impact assessment
equilibrium theory
welfare economics
tariffs
mathematical models
trade liberalization
Lofgren, Hans
Trade reform and the poor in Morocco: a rural-urban general equilibrium analysis of reduced protection
title Trade reform and the poor in Morocco: a rural-urban general equilibrium analysis of reduced protection
title_full Trade reform and the poor in Morocco: a rural-urban general equilibrium analysis of reduced protection
title_fullStr Trade reform and the poor in Morocco: a rural-urban general equilibrium analysis of reduced protection
title_full_unstemmed Trade reform and the poor in Morocco: a rural-urban general equilibrium analysis of reduced protection
title_short Trade reform and the poor in Morocco: a rural-urban general equilibrium analysis of reduced protection
title_sort trade reform and the poor in morocco a rural urban general equilibrium analysis of reduced protection
topic social impact assessment
equilibrium theory
welfare economics
tariffs
mathematical models
trade liberalization
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161363
work_keys_str_mv AT lofgrenhans tradereformandthepoorinmoroccoaruralurbangeneralequilibriumanalysisofreducedprotection