Marrakech - The World Bank’s World Development Report 2024 has identified serious obstacles hindering the efforts of over 100 middle-income countries, including Morocco, in their quest to achieve high-income status within the next few decades.

The report, titled “The Middle Income Trap,” offers the first comprehensive roadmap to enable these countries to escape this economic quagmire.

According to the report, Morocco is among several countries, including Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, Türkiye, and Viet Nam, that aspire to accomplish in 50 years what countries like South Korea, Chile, and Poland achieved in just 25.

To realize this ambitious goal, the report recommends a sequenced and progressively sophisticated mix of policies focused on investment, infusion of technology, and innovation—the “3i” strategy.

“The battle for global economic prosperity will largely be won or lost in middle-income countries,” said Indermit Gill, Chief Economist of the World Bank Group and Senior Vice President for Development Economics.

“But too many of these countries rely on outmoded strategies to become advanced economies. They depend just on investment for too long—or they switch prematurely to innovation. A fresh approach is needed.”

For Morocco and other lower-middle-income countries, the report suggests focusing on policies designed to increase investment and shift to a “2i” approach, combining investment with the intentional infusion of know-how from abroad.

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As countries reach upper-middle-income status, they should transition to a “3i” strategy, adding innovation to the mix.

The report emphasizes that success depends on how well societies balance the economic forces of creation, preservation, and destruction.

This involves disciplining incumbency to weaken the forces of preservation, rewarding merit to strengthen the forces of creation, and capitalizing on crises to aid the destruction of outdated policies and institutions.

Specific recommendations for Morocco and other middle-income countries include improving the investment climate, integrating into globally contestable markets, diffusing global technologies, and rewarding value-adding firms.

Additionally, the recommendations emphasize investing in human capital, providing equal opportunities for women and disadvantaged groups, reflecting environmental costs in energy prices, and lowering the cost of capital for low-carbon energy.

The report warns that the road ahead won’t be easy, but it’s possible for countries to make progress even in today’s challenging conditions.

“Success will depend on how well societies balance the forces of creation, preservation, and destruction,” said Somik V. Lall, Director of the 2024 World Development Report.

“Countries that try to spare their citizenry the pains associated with reforms and openness will miss out on the gains that come from sustained growth.”