Foreign direct investment – a key driver of Moroccan development: What can be done to maximize its potential?

This study examines the determinants influencing the attractiveness of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Morocco during the period 2000–2023. The data utilized in this study are sourced from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, encompassing economic, institutional, and infrastructural dimensions. The model includes variables representing economic growth, economic openness, inflation, infrastructure quality, political and macroeconomic stability, institutional quality, and fiscal policy. A Ridge regression was adopted to address multicollinearity issues detected in the data. Econometric diagnostics, including stationarity tests, residual normality tests, autocorrelation tests, and heteroskedasticity tests, confirm the robustness of the model.The results show that economic openness has a positive and significant effect on FDI inflows, highlighting the importance of trade and international integration. Political and macroeconomic stability also exerts a positive and significant impact, confirming that foreign investors value a stable environment. Conversely, economic growth exhibits a negative and non-significant effect, suggesting that Morocco’s growth has not been sufficient to create favorable conditions for FDI attractiveness. Infrastructure quality and institutional quality show significant negative impacts, which may reflect perceived shortcomings in these areas despite ongoing efforts. Inflation has no statistically significant effect on FDI, while fiscal policy has a significant negative impact, indicating that tax policies have a dissuasive effect on international investors.