Toward Economically Dynamic Special Economic Zones in Emerging Countries

Frick, Susanne A. ; Rodrí ; guez-Pose, André ; s ; Wong, Michael D.

Taylor and Francis

关键词: SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES;    DEVELOPING COUNTRIES;    INDUSTRIAL POLICY;    ECONOMIC GROWTH;   

DOI  :  10.1080/00130095.2018.1467732
RP-ID  :  134762

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Despite a massive recent proliferation of special economic zones (SEZs), there is virtually no quantitative research on what drives their dynamism. The aim of this article is to address this gap and analyze the factors influencing SEZ performance—proxied by economic growth—in emerging countries. The article relies on two novel data sets, using nightlights data to proxy for SEZ performance, and containing a wide range of SEZ policy variables and characteristics across a large number of countries. The main results of the analysis indicate that (1) zone growth is difficult to sustain over time; (2) trying to upgrade the technological component or value added of the economy through SEZ policies is often challenging; and (3) zone size matters: larger zones have an advantage in terms of growth potential. Furthermore, country context significantly determines SEZ performance. Firms look for low-cost locations but in close proximity to large cities. Proximity to large markets as well as preexisting industrialization also increase SEZ performance. In contrast, incentives and other program-specific variables are highly context specific and not structurally correlated with SEZ performance.