Impact of Global Value Chains on the Performance of Moroccan Exports: Sector Analysis with Economic Dependencies

Abstract: The last few decades have been marked by profound changes in international trade, which is increasingly organised around global value chains. Theoretical and empirical research shows the benefits associated with increasing participation in global value chains (GVCs) for both developed and developing countries. However, empirical studies on the effects of backward and forward participation in GVCs for the specific case of a country remain limited. This article seeks to examine whether Morocco’s backward and forward participation in GVCs improves the performance of its exports over the period of 1995 to 2018 using different cointegration techniques in panel data. Our empirical results show that forward and backward participation positively impact exports and domestic value added in Moroccan exports. They also indicate that domestic and foreign service inputs contribute positively to this performance. Based on the obtained results, we propose some recommendations for policymakers.