Economic and Political change in Tunisia: From Bourguiba to Ben Ali

298 Pages·1999·2.16 MB·English

by  Emma C. Murphy (auth.)

Economic and Political
Change in Tunisia
From Bourguiba to Ben Ali
Emma C. Murphy
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CHANGE IN TUNISIA
Also by Emma C. Murphy
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL LIBERALIZATION IN THE MIDDLE
EAST (co-editor with Tim Niblock)
Economic and Political
Change in Tunisia
From Bourguiba to Ben Ali
Emma C. Murphy
Lecturer in Middle East Politics
University of Durham
in association with
First published in Great Britain 1999 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-349-40822-1 ISBN 978-0-333-98358-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780333983584
First published in the United States of America 1999 by
ST. MARTIN’S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 978-0-312-22142-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Murphy, Emma.
Economic and political change in Tunisia : from Bourguiba to Ben
Ali / Emma C. Murphy.
p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-312-22142-3 (clo
th)
1. Tunisia—Economic conditions—1956– 2. Tunisia—Economic

policy. 3. Tunisia—Politics and government—1956– I. Title.
HC820.M87 1999
330.9611'05—dc21 98–33304
CIP
© Emma C. Murphy 1999
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1999 978-0-333-73500-8
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with
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Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and
sustained forest sources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99
For Anoush
`It is not easy to replace a man like me . . . There is, between the
Tunisian people and me, forty years of life passed together, of common
hardships endured together, which will not exist with him who comes
after me . . . I have created a nation largely around myself, around my
person, and I wish to see that nation strengthen itself around the state,
which should endure.'
Habib Bourguiba
12 January 1972
Contents

List of Tables viii

List of Abbreviations x

Acknowledgements xii

Introduction 1

1 Economic Liberalization and the State in the Developing

World: From Corporatism to Authoritarianism 12

2 The Rise and Fall of the Corporatist State in

Tunisia, 1956-1986 42

3 The Roots of Crisis: Economic Policy under

Bourguiba, 1956-1987 80

4 Macroeconomic Stabilization and Early Economic

Reform: The Seventh Development Plan, 1987-1991 103

5 The Consolidation of Structural Adjustment:

The Eighth Development Plan, 1992-1996 132

6 The Politics of Reconciliation and Reform, 1987-1990 164

7 The Reassertion of the State, 1990-1997 193

8 The Disarticulation of Multi-Party Corporatism:

State and Society under Ben Ali 221

Notes and References 245

Bibliography 267

Index 277

vii
List of Tables

3.1 Net migration by region 1970±1975 (000s) 84
3.2 Long-term and short-term debt (US$ millions) 85
3.3 Volume and value of Tunisian petroleum and
petroleum product exports 1970±1980 86
3.4 Food imports and exports 1970±1985 (percentage
of total merchandise imports and exports) 87
3.5 Value and growth rates of imports and exports
1950±1980 (US$ millions) 88
3.6 Relative share of public and private sector
investment in gross fixed capital formation in
industry 1962±1980 (percentage of total) 89
3.7 Results of state enterprises by sector of activity
1983 (TD000s) 89
3.8 Labour supply and demand 91
3.9 Evolution of absolute poverty 1961±1980 91
3.10 External debt 1981±1987 (US$ millions) 94
3.11 International reserves (US$ millions and as number
of months of imports) 95
4.1 Sectoral contributions to development during the Seventh
Development Plan 121
4.2 Structure of production during the Seventh
Development Plan (percentage of total production) 122
4.3 Trade balance in hydrocarbons during the Seventh
Development Plan 122
4.4 Composition of exports during the Seventh
Development Plan (percentages) 123
4.5 Composition of external debt by creditor during the
Seventh Development Plan 124
4.6 Summary of investment during the Seventh
Development Plan 125
4.7 Gross fixed investment by economic sector and
financing during the Seventh Development Plan
(TD million) 126
4.8 Structure of employment during the Seventh
Development Plan 127
viii
List of Tables ix
4.9 Development of social transfers (TD millions at

current prices) 129

4.10 Price developments during the Seventh Development

Plan (annual percentage change) 130

5.1 Energy indicators 1991±1994 136

5.2 Stock market indicators 145

5.3 Foreign trade 1991±94 (TD millions) 150

5.4 Tunisia's external debt profile 1992±1996 151

5.5 Consumer prices indices 1991±1995 155

5.6 Employment generation during the Eighth

Development Plan 156

8.1 Annual average growth in GDP and population of

selected MENA countries 238

8.2 Foreign direct investment flows to Mediterranean

and GCC countries (US$ million) 238

8.3 Annual average growth in GDP and population of

selected countries 239

8.4 Regional distribution of foreign direct investment to

developing countries in 1995 (US$ millions) 240