Productivity

Morocco’s productivity focus’ on its physical capital, human capital, natural resources, and technological knowledge. Physical capital is produced primarily from industrial parks (mostly in Casablanca and Tangier), the governments decision to switch to privatization, and the many manufacturing factories. Morocco’s main source of physical capital comes from industrial parks, such as the Casablanca Tehcnopark and the Tanger-Med industrial port. Human capital is based on education and the skills it takes to be productive. Only 52.3% of the population is literate and have received an education where above 45% of the population is involved in agriculture, even though farming produces only 14% of the countries GDP. Morocco’s most profitable natural resources consist of phosphates, fish, citruses, manganese, lead, silver, and copper (Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. 2009). Morocco’s technological advancements have somewhat caused them to keep up with the rest of the world. Over 10 million people in Morocco use the internet and in 2001 Morocco established the Casablanca Technopark to improve all industrial aspects including technology. The Technopark provides training programs for students, whose careers involve technology, and serves as human capital. It is also Morocco’s first industrial park which provides information technology, training programs, and consists of 132 companies (International Business Wiki). Its main purposes are to enhance information technology, software engineering, and IT ventures.

The industrial poles, such as the Technopark in Casablanca, have been giving companies in Morocco more optimism. These industrial parks allow company owners to avoid overhead costs and fees by using the same facilities to conduct business. This also allows company owners to formulate and share ideas together. Morocco’s low literacy rate may be due to the fact that 45% of the labor force population is involved with agriculture, meaning they don’t need to be able to read to farm (CIA World Factbook). This could be one of the determinants of Morocco’s struggle to develop and earn more GDP. Much of Morocco’s natural resources can be determined by the weather in Morocco because much of the natural resources are citruses and other agricultural products. Since it is a dry country, some years can be more profitable than others. Phosphates are Morocco’s most profitable resource because it is a fertilizer mineral than can be mined and sold to other countries. Morocco’s industrial parks have allowed Morocco to keep up with technological advancements and they have increased the population of Morocco’s middle class by giving poor people the opportunity to be educated and get better jobs. Another thing that causes changes in productivity is the celebration of the Muslim holiday Ramadan where muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, or doing anything in excess or ill-natured, including some work (Bennmehdi. 2008).

Works Cited

Bennmehdi, Hassan. "Productivity drops during Ramadan in Morocco ()." Magharebia.com. 19 Sept. 2008. Web. 09 Dec. 2009. <http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2008/09/19/feature-03>.

"CIA - The World Factbook -- Morocco." Welcome to the CIA Web Site Central Intelligence Agency. Web. 09 Dec. 2009. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mo.html>.

"Morocco (03/09)." U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Mar. 2009. Web. 09 Dec. 2009. <http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5431.htm>.

"Morocco's Technology - International Business - a Wikia wiki." International Business Wiki. Web. 09 Dec. 2009. <http://internationalbusiness.wikia.com/wiki/Morocco's_Technology>.