The process of structural change as economies develop is accompanied by a decline of the share of agriculture in GDP. In North Africa during 1970-2016, this share has stayed almost constant in Algeria and Tunisia, and although it decreased in Egypt and Morocco it did so less drastically than in other middle-income developing economies. This paper identifies changes in terms of trade, in factor endowments, and in the nature of technical change as forces associated with this evolution in small open economies. It then finds that the slow influx of capital has been the dominant force in delaying the process of structural change in these economies, while changes in the terms of trade of agricultural products only had temporary impacts.

Keywords: Structural change, agricultural share; Rybczynski Theorem; dynamic panel; terms of trade; factor endowment; technical change.