The rate of the informal (shadow) economy in Morocco dropped to less than 30 percent of the Gross Domestic Product between 2009 and 2018, according to a study published on the Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) website.
Participants in the study, “Measuring and Developing the Informal Economy in Morocco,” explained that the informal economy has seen three distinct periods of development.
The first was between 1988 and 1998, when it stabilized at nearly 40 percent of the GDP. The second was between 1999 and 2008, which saw its decline to 32-34 percent of the GDP. The third was between 2009 and 2018 and was characterized by a continuous downward trend, but at a more moderate pace, reaching a rate of less than 30 percent of the GDP.
Results of the study by Kamal Lahlou, Hicham Doghmi and Friedrich Schneide showed that strategies implemented since early 2000 to improve the institutional, economic and financial environments have contributed to reducing the volume of the informal economy.
Despite that, researchers believe that tackling informal activities requires additional structural reforms, especially those related to education, the justice system, tax policy and the labor market.
A single or isolated policy cannot lead to a significant decrease in the influence of the informal sector, they noted.
The sector restructuring strategy should include integrated reforms that address the complexities and peculiarities of informality in each sector, separately, they added.
They also called for developing tax administration-related capacities and processes to better target tax controls, collecting taxes and social contributions by a single tax administration and adopting measures for tax stimulus through wide consultations between various actors.
