The Moroccan economy facing the global health crisis (Covid-19)

Abstract

Like other countries in the world, Moroccohas been affected by the Coronavirus. With more than 77,800 cases detected and a rising mortality rate, the situation quickly became critical for the Moroccan government given its limited resources. To contain the situation and control the spread of the virus, the government adopted a series of proactive measures, including declaring astate of public health emergency, confinement, and enhanced testing for potential cases.However, the economic recession and rising unemployment will be the logical consequences of these measures taken to limit the spread of the virus, characterized by analmost total halt in the circulation of production factors. Thus, the impact of this pandemic in most emerging and developing economies is likely to be much worse, the damage caused by the virus is considerable and will undoubtedly have long-term implications that will cost the global economy dearly.Consequently, as a consumption savings, trade, and tourism economy, whose structure is linked to external and domestic demand, to which the balance of payments and public finances are highly sensitive, Moroccocould suffer significant losses in 2020. On the other hand, risks of reduced external supply and demand, particularly from the EU, could arise in the future in some sectors. The impact of the pandemic on the Moroccan economy is very difficult to assess because no one yet knows when it will end. The pandemic has not spared any sector and could delay economic recovery significantly. The shock of Covid-19 suddenly pushes the Moroccan economy into a severe recession. This raises the question: How deep will the recession be? In this context of uncertainty, we will therefore try in this article to assess the impact of the global health crisis on the economic activity and economic growth of the Kingdom of Morocco in 2020.