The global financial crisis is causing Maghrebi economists to rethink dependence on foreign sources of financing economic growth. As financing possibilities at the international level grow increasingly limited, Maghrebi economies must address the need to finance investment, without curbing the promising potential for a consumer society in the region. Algeria’s status as an oil exporting country is due to its relative independence from exterior financing. In 2009, Morocco and Tunisia could seek greater independent self-financing of their development by balancing investment with savings. Traditionally, these countries have had recourse to foreign liquidity via international loans, foreign direct investment and, increasingly, the remittances of workers living abroad. But a comparison between the investment and savings figures in the countries of the Maghreb reveals a significant gap between national savings and investment. If the difference is not yet a source of crisis, this is because FDI and remittances continue to fill the
