A Participatory Approach to Building Human Capital : Morocco's National Human Development Initiative
From 2000 to 2020, Morocco made significant strides in improving both its economic and its social status. Compared to the growth rates it maintained on average during the 1980s and 1990s, it increased its GDP growth rate and diversified its economy by focusing on sectors that had growth potential...
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English |
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Global Delivery Initiative, Washington, DC
2020
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/847191595611380290/A-Participatory-Approach-to-Building-Huma-Capital-Moroccos-National-Human-Development-Initiative http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34209 |
| Summary: | From 2000 to 2020, Morocco made significant strides in improving both its
economic and its social status. Compared to the growth rates it maintained
on average during the 1980s and 1990s, it increased its GDP growth rate and
diversified its economy by focusing on sectors that had growth potential, such
as the aeronautical, automobile, and solar energy industries. Encouraged by the
positive results and improved indicators, Morocco strove to close its economic
gap quickly and join the ranks of upper-middle-income countries. From a social
standpoint, the country’s performance was also sound. It significantly reduced
overall poverty and nearly eradicated extreme poverty.
Over that 20-year period, Morocco also made progress in developing its
human capital. A prominent national program driving the development of
the country’s human capital was the National Human Development Initiative
(NHDI). Launched in 2005 by King Mohammed VI, he described it as “a royal
project that places the human element at the center of national policies.” The
main goal of the NHDI was to address critical gaps in Morocco’s development
trajectory, such as high poverty in rural areas, social exclusion in urban areas,
and the lack of opportunities and resources available to vulnerable populations
(Benkassmi and Abdelkhalek 2020; World Bank 2017a). It was designed to
improve socioeconomic conditions in targeted poor areas through participatory
local governance mechanisms. The government implemented the initiative at the
level of rural and urban local governments (known in Morocco as communes)
and in urban neighborhoods (Bergh 2012). The program was implemented in
multiple phases, adapting to changing circumstances as it facilitated projects
that advanced human capital development. |
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