Capital humain, développement des compétences et investissements directs étrangers au Maroc : un essai d'analyse empirique

Abstract

Many variables have been examined in the literature as determinants of FDI, in this work the focus is on the importance of human capital as an explanatory variable that further drains foreign direct investment to our country.  The relationship between FDI and human capital has become a subject of increasing interest. The role of human capital in attracting foreign direct investment has been widely identified in the literature. Several theoretical and empirical works have emphasized the importance of human capital as a powerful factor in attracting FDI. The aim of this work is to verify whether the presence of a high level of human capital that incorporates skills, technologies, creativity, innovation and professional competences constitutes a powerful determinant of the attractiveness of Morocco in terms of foreign direct investment. To do this, we will conduct an econometric study based on time series by the error correction model (ECM) over the period 1990-2019. The empirical results show that all measures of human capital have a significant influence on FDI, as the number of graduates of institutions and higher education and the number of graduates of vocational training positively affect the inflow of FDI in Morocco. This means that an increase in the number of graduates encourages the establishment of foreign companies. On the other hand, graduates from universities in the normal cycle and graduates from master's and doctoral programs have a negative impact on FDI inflows. On the other hand, GDP is found to be significant and negatively affects the inflow of FDI to Morocco, a surprising result, as it is contrary to the one established in numerous studies that stipulate that GDP represents a primordial element for attracting FDI.

JEL Classification : C51, E22, F21, J24,

Paper type : Empirical research