Restructuring and economic performance: the experience of the Tunisian economy

This paper aims at identifying the sources of comparative advantage and the bottlenecksof the Tunisian economy. By using an activity analysis model and yearly data on theinput-output structure and the factor endowments, the paper determines the evolution ofthe potential of the Tunisian economy between 1983 and 1996 and some of its keyaspects that the industrial restructuring program of 1996 could improve or reinforce. Theanalysis sheds light on the scarcity of various types of labor, in particular of qualifiedlabor.