Una investigación sobre la inversión extranjera directa en el sector de la industria auxiliar del automóvil en Marruecos

Abstract

The Moroccan economy has undergone significant structural changes since at least the 1990s. Among all the economic policy measures that have been taken, the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been a fundamental strategy for the economic development of the country. This strategy is materialized in the adoption of multiple bilateral and multilateral agreements. The growing FDI reflects the importance of a segment of the Moroccan economy as part of the global strategies of multinational companies. The main objective of this Doctoral Thesis is to clarify to what extent the determinants of Foreign Direct Investment influence the levels of investment made by foreign companies in Morocco. The interest in investigating how foreign direct investment in Morocco is produced, and the identification of the most relevant factors affecting the localization decision of foreign companies, was born out of the growing trend towards greater trade and investment openness observed in Morocco. In this research, Moroccan legislative changes on FDI from the 1980s onwards are examined in detail, which are fundamental to understanding the FDI inflows options in Morocco and their increasing flows since then. The importance of the automotive industry in emerging economies and their role as a driver for the development of other sectors with high added value have led several emerging countries to develop and strengthen this industry as one of their main objectives. Morocco is no exception, as the Moroccan automotive industry has represented a strategic sector for the country's development: its share of exports places it as the country's most important industry, surpassing even the country's strategic sectors such as the extraction of Phosphate. Due to its competitive advantages at the regional level offered by Morocco, the automotive industry in the North African country still has a high potential for growth and job creation. Morocco can increase its competitiveness as a recipient of FDI in the sector of the automotive industry and become a major export plant. In the Moroccan economy, several multinationals carry out Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), mainly in the automotive industry. Their FDI are important for the Moroccan economy, as a way of learning new technology. For the Moroccan Government, promoting FDI would be an effective way of contributing to economic development. The present study evaluates the performance of FDI in the automobile auxiliary industry in Morocco, and analyzes the characteristics that explain this situation. The new conditions of the economic context and the international insertion of Morocco are studied, articulated by the opening of the economy. It also identifies the existence of determinants of FDI in the sector of the automobile industry in Morocco. Among these factors, several main determinants have been distinguished: the Political Framework for Foreign Direct Investment; The Economic Determinants; And the Measures facilitating the Investment Transactions. The study is also complemented with information of the automotive industry in Morocco that has to do with the entry of FDI in the sector. An empirical study is also carried out on the multinational companies of the sector implanted in Morocco. We analyze the attraction factors for investments and, from a survey of companies in the sector, using as input the contributions of several authors specialized in FDI, we evaluate the responses of companies and the determinants of investment decisions.