Agencification: towards a new public performance?

Abstract

In Morocco, the sector of Public Enterprises and Establishments (PEEs) plays a central role in the implementation of public policies and in the country’s socio-economic development process. Due to their economic weight, their contribution to public investment, and their involvement in the provision of essential public services, PEEs constitute a strategic lever for planning, execution, and structural transformation of the national economy. However, despite their importance, successive assessments conducted by various oversight institutions have revealed persistent dysfunctions, governance weaknesses, and mixed performance outcomes, thereby reviving the debate on the relevance of the extensive use of agencification as a mode of organizing public action.

This paper aims to analyze the agencification of the Moroccan public sector through the lens of agency theory and the principles of New Public Management (NPM), with a particular focus on its implications for public performance. It seeks to assess the extent to which the autonomy granted to PEEs, combined with governance and control mechanisms implemented by the State, contributes to improving effectiveness, efficiency, and the overall performance of public policies.

The study adopts a qualitative approach based on a case study of the Moroccan PEE sector. It relies on secondary data drawn from budgetary reports, publications of the Court of Auditors, institutional documents, and statistical data covering the period from 2011 to 2024. The analysis focuses on the evolution of the PEE portfolio, the dynamics of subsidiary proliferation, financial performance, investment levels, and technical achievements.

The findings highlight a significant contribution of PEEs to public investment and infrastructure development, alongside an uncontrolled expansion of the public portfolio, increasing financial dependence on the State, and irregular investment execution rates. These results underline the limitations of insufficiently controlled agencification and point to the need for stronger strategic steering, better coordination among supervisory authorities, and the promotion of a results-oriented performance culture. The paper concludes by emphasizing the challenges associated with the reform introduced by Framework Law No. 50-21 and the conditions required to make agencification a sustainable lever for improving public performance.

Classification JEL: H11, H83, L32.

Paper type: Empirical Research