Comments by Chng Saun Fong, on Special Economic Zones and Local Economic Activities: Evidence from Nightlight Analysis in Thailand

Do Special Economic Zones (SEZs) boost local economic activity in Ethiopia? Although SEZs have been an integral part of Ethiopia’s industrial growth over the past 15 years, their local impacts remain understudied. This paper uses satellite-based nighttime light data and a difference-in-differences approach to assess the effects of SEZs across districts. Results show that SEZ-hosting districts saw an average 18% increase in economic activity, with no spillovers to neighbouring districts. The impact is more substantial for larger and publicly owned SEZs. The findings suggest that while SEZs effectively promote local economic development, their spatially concentrated benefits call for complementary policies to extend growth beyond host districts.

Over the past few decades, special economic zones (SEZs) have become a widely used industrial policy tool to promote local economic development and drive structural transformation. However, evidence on the effects of SEZs in developing countries remains limited. This study examines the causal effect of SEZs established in Thailand in 2015, using nightlight satellite data as a proxy for annual economic activity from 2012 to 2020. Using the difference-in-differences estimation, the results suggest that the establishment of SEZs led to a statistically significant decline in the economic activity in the provinces where SEZs were established. Additionally, the results from the event study approach indicate a sustained negative impact of SEZ establishment, with the effect remaining statistically significant for several years. These findings suggest that policymakers should consider revamping SEZ policies to achieve more effective developmental outcomes.

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of global experience in the creation and functioning of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), with a particular focus on the cases of Germany and Poland—two countries that have adopted different models for integrating SEZs into their economic development strategies. The paper explores the historical evolution of SEZs, their typology, legal frameworks, tax and customs incentives, and institutional mechanisms supporting businesses within these zones. The role of SEZs as tools for attracting investment, creating jobs, boosting exports, modernizing infrastructure, and supporting regional development is thoroughly examined. Special attention is given to a comparative analysis of the German freeport model, which is primarily oriented toward transport and logistics hubs, and the Polish model of comprehensive SEZs that feature tax incentives for investors, support for SMEs, innovation promotion, and regional employment growth. The study delves into the legal basis of SEZs in Poland, investor requirements, procedures for obtaining permits, mechanisms for interacting with government institutions, and the socio-economic impact of these zones in various voivodeships. The potential for integrating SEZ instruments into Ukraine’s national economic policy is analyzed in light of the country’s current post-war recovery context. A SWOT analysis is presented, identifying the strengths (such as Ukraine's favorable geographic location, natural and human resources, and international support) and weaknesses (including infrastructure destruction, security risks, and regulatory instability) of implementing SEZs in Ukraine. The article offers practical recommendations for developing a national SEZ model in Ukraine, based on the principles of sustainable development, innovation, and cooperation among government, business, and academic institutions. The findings can be used in the formation of post-war economic recovery strategies, legislative initiatives, regional planning, and integration into global economic processes. The research findings may be useful for scholars, policymakers, economists, and other professionals in developing post-war economic recovery strategies, shaping legislative initiatives, as well as in regional planning and integration into global economic processes.

The study aims to check the suitability and feasibility of establishing a storage and distribution center in Tak Province to support the Tak Special Economic Development Zone. Indeed, business organizations in different countries are provided with opportunities to practice business activities in the special economic zone. However, some business organizations are not developing their storage and distribution centers in the special economic zones. The stratified sampling method was adopted in this study to collect the data from the target population. The sample size was 500 and the Likert scale questionnaire was prepared to collect the data from the target population. The study demonstrates that there is a critical role of storage centers and distribution centers in the success of businesses if these centers are following the rules and regulations of the special economic zones. The significance of this study is that no earlier study has discussed the critical role of storage and distribution centers in the Kat Special Economic Development Zone in Kat Province.

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) is one of the known mechanisms to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Nevertheless, there was a global mix reaction towards its successful implementation with a few operational failures, especially in the area of its legal framework. Therefore, this paper aim is to explore the success and failure experience to be a reference for the development of Special Border Economic Zone at Bukit Kayu Hitam using qualitative textual analysis. It finds that two significant issues in SEZs; regulatory/ legal framework, and development spill-over. Keywords: Special Economic Zones; Land Use Planning Law; Policy Implementation; Bukit Kayu Hitam. eISSN: 2398-4287© 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v5i14.2270

At present, India has many functional Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Export Oriented Units (EOUs), since the policy of Special Economic Zone (2000) and the scheme of Export Oriented Units (1981) were introduced. These two play an important role in the growth of export from the country. The SEZ and EOU/Export Processing Zones (EPZ) schemes have a common objective of export promotion. Therefore, by and large the procedures are the same. In some developing countries, a lot of economic privileges were given to (SEZs. These privileges facilitated international integration. Lured by the heavy incentives, a large number of industrial houses and developers – Indian as well as foreign – are pushing their applications to the State Governments to approve new proposals. Opening for international investors boosted economic growth in these regions. Hence, a strong regional disparity is developed in the allocation of SEZs in India. This paper tried to map the variation in SEZ distribution. This study will play a significant role for the further decisions of SEZ approvals, because investors have shown much interest in establishment of SEZs in the developed states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat. Among the major categories of SEZ approvals in the country, the IT/IT Enabled Services (ITES)/electronic hardware and semiconductor stand at the top. The state wise comparison reveals that Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have the highest number of IT/ITES SEZs, and Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have the highest number of Pharma/Bio-tech SEZs. Maharashtra stands at the top in the number of SEZ approvals and Gujarat stands first in the approvals of multi-product SEZs. About the investments and the business prospective of the SEZs, as on 31 March 2008, Gujarat attracted 60.2% of the total investment in the SEZs, covering 30%% of all SEZ land. In case of the approved land area for formal and notified SEZs, Gujarat stands at first place. This picture clearly revels that there is a string of regional or inter-state disparity in industrial development. Literature shows that there is a trade-off between balanced industrial (regional) development and external economies to industries. So, it is expected that SEZs will efficiently increase the export. But, in comparison to EOUs, export performance of SEZs is not satisfactory. The export from SEZs for the year 2007–2008 was Rs 66638 crore in against the export from EOUs, which is accounted for Rs 154428 crore, and average growth rate of export from the period 1992–1993 to 2007–2008 is about 31% for SEZs and 34% for EOUs. So, it is clear that still there is a long way for desirable outcomes from SEZs. Hence, it is suggested that a policy should be implemented, taking in to consideration the regional agglomeration of industries, and required infrastructure for SEZs.

This article analyzes the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in terms of the creation and functioning of special economic and industrial zones. The definition of such concepts as "special economic" and "industrial" zones is given. A comparative analysis of the rules and procedure for the creation of special economic and industrial zones has been carried out, common features and peculiarities of their functioning have been established. It is established that special economic zones are created in order to attract foreign investment into the economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan by decision of the Government, which significantly increases its status and responsibility for the implementation of projects on its territory. The purpose of creating an industrial zone is also to attract investments, but already in the development of a certain region of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the basis of a decision of the local executive body and the akim of the relevant region is responsible for the implementation of projects in the territory of the industrial zone. The analysis also revealed the imperfections of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in terms of the organization of work and functioning of industrial zones. It is proposed to exclude the formal provision of the law regulating the procedure for considering the Concept of a regional industrial zone project. The purpose of this work is to study and analyze the grounds for the creation of special economic and industrial zones, to consider the specifics of their functioning, as well as to improve the current legislation in this area of public relations

This article analyzes the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in terms of the creation and functioning of special economic and industrial zones. The definition of such concepts as "special economic" and "industrial" zones is given. A comparative analysis of the rules and procedure for the creation of special economic and industrial zones has been carried out, common features and peculiarities of their functioning have been established. It is established that special economic zones are created in order to attract foreign investment into the economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan by decision of the Government, which significantly increases its status and responsibility for the implementation of projects on its territory. The purpose of creating an industrial zone is also to attract investments, but already in the development of a certain region of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the basis of a decision of the local executive body and the akim of the relevant region is responsible for the implementation of projects in the territory of the industrial zone. The analysis also revealed the imperfections of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in terms of the organization of work and functioning of industrial zones. It is proposed to exclude the formal provision of the law regulating the procedure for considering the Concept of a regional industrial zone project. The purpose of this work is to study and analyze the grounds for the creation of special economic and industrial zones, to consider the specifics of their functioning, as well as to improve the current legislation in this area of public relations.

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Free Trade Zones (FTZs) are special trade or manufacturing enclaves within the territory of a State governed by a different set of laws and regulations than the rest of its territory. They form an essential part of the economic development, trade, and investment policy of several developed countries as well as emerging economies. In 2018, the United States challenged, among other measures, certain incentives which India had provided to SEZs, Export Oriented Units, Biotechnology and Electronics and Hardware Parks (EOU/EHTP/BTP) under India’s Foreign Trade Policy. These incentives were challenged as prohibited export subsidies under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM Agreement). While the Panel found against India, some of the issues adjudicated in the Panel report have implications for SEZs, FTZs and other similar entities located in such special enclaves. This article seeks to examine some of the key implications of this dispute on the functioning of deemed foreign trade zones within the territorial bounds of a WTO member. Of particular focus is, how WTO Members can implement the SEZs or other Trade Zones without inviting adverse outcomes. In addition, the article examines the contentious issue of the operation of the phase-out period for export subsidies under Article 27.2 of the SCM Agreement, which is of particular importance to a number of developing countries. Special Economic Zones, WTO, SCM Agreement, United States, India, fiscal incentives, revenue foregone, Footnote 1, Article 27, Annex VII, developing countries, cross-border zones

The article is devoted to studying the theoretical and practical aspects of special (free) economic zones’ functioning. The authors, by analyzing the relationship between the Institute of public-private partnerships and special economic zones, proved that the special economic zones are not a form of public-private partnership, but the environment of its implementation.

Comments by Lijuan Yin, on Special Economic Zones and Local Economic Activities: Evidence from Nightlight Analysis in Thailand

Globalization is a process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. With the advances in communication, transportation, and technology, this process has increased in intensity and has become increasingly more prevalent in the 21st century. Globalization has affected local, national, and worldwide economic activities since the turn of the millennium, with local areas receiving enormous impact. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to investigate the degree to which economic activities have been impacted by globalization, especially during the first two decades of the twenty-first century. It adopts historical research method in data collection and analytical approach in presenting them. Because writers often ignore the region's economic past, a large amount of the material comes from oral interviews, which fills in the information gaps.

Special economic zones (SEZs) have been used by many developing countries as a policy tool to promote industrialization and economic transformation (Zeng, 2021). This qualitative research aims to explain the readiness that drives the development of the Tak special economic zone of government agencies and entrepreneurs located in Mae Pa subdistrict, Mae Sot district, in Tak province of Thailand, in terms of both its social and economic aspects. In-depth interviews were conducted with ten key informants, employing purposive sampling. Content analysis and NVivo software were used to analyse the qualitative data. The findings revealed that the main obstacles and problems in developing the Mae Pa subdistrict special economic zone to achieve sustainability in the operation of government agencies are unclear bureaucratic regulations and a lack of legislation supporting the work of related agencies at the national and local levels. By inviting the prime minister to work groups in various committees, the government should prioritise the subdistrict administrative organisation. A town plan with the establishment of a centre for the integration of the Tak special economic development zone of each area based on public opinion, particularly among those who will be affected by this development, should be designed.

The article is devoted to the study of the legal basis for the formation and functioning of special (free) economic zones. It is substantiated that the creation of a special (free) economic zone is an effective means of state stimulation of economic development of individual territories. The economic efficiency of the formation and functioning of special (free) economic zones is analyzed. It is established that important indicators of such efficiency are: reduction of unemployment in the respective territory, increase of investment income, development of production, etc. The author has identified some problematic aspects of the legal regulation of the formation and functioning of special (free) economic zones. In particular, on the basis of the analysis it was determined that the Tax Code of Ukraine and the Customs Code of Ukraine do not contain rules that determine the peculiarities of the tax and customs regimes in the territories of special (free) economic zones, and after the 2005 amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On General Principles" the creation and functioning of special (free) economic zones ”the special preferential tax regime in the specified territories was terminated, which in general called into question the expediency of functioning of special economic zones. It was also found that the legal act, which determined the procedure and methodology for assessing the effectiveness of the functioning of the special (free) economic zone, has lost its validity, however, a new act, taking into account modern economic requirements and needs, has not been developed. The experience of some foreign countries in the field of formation and functioning of special (free) economic zones is investigated. On the basis of the scientific and legal analysis, a number of proposals for improving the legal regulation in the field of formation and functioning of special (free) economic zones were developed, in particular, by introducing amendments to the Tax and Customs Codes of Ukraine, laws of Ukraine, which regulate the formation and functioning of the respective special (free) economic zones.

The empirical literature on Special economic zones (SEZs) has shown that SEZs have become critical policy tools for advancing economic and firm performance, especially in developing economies where financial capital, human capital, technology and technical know‐how to drive these performances are in limited supply. While the importance and effects of SEZs cannot be overemphasised and are well documented, particularly in Asia, SEZs' operationalisation, structure and policy practice appear to vary, especially in Ghana and hence a need to examine SEZ effects on firm performance in Ghana. Thus, following the difference in the structure and practice of SEZs and its limited empirical evidence in African emerging economies, this present study employs analysis of variance, treatment estimation and regression models covering 328 firms between 2018 and 2021 to shed insights on how SEZ dynamics/features affect firm performance (measured with total factor productivity, labour productivity, profitability, revenue generation and value added) in Ghana. Our results suggest firms operating under SEZ dynamics have varying significant effects on firm performance. Thus, while firms registered as SEZ firms and operating in SEZ enclaves and firms registered as SEZ firms and operating outside SEZ enclaves have significant positive effects on the performance indicators of firms, firms that are not registered as SEZ firms and operating outside SEZ enclaves detracted firm performance. Clearly, firms that possess SEZ dynamics/features tend to promote performance of firms as denoted in the empirical literature and theoretical approaches to SEZ. Arguably, the tax holidays, cheaper tariffs and infrastructural benefits derived by SEZ registered firms boost their productivity, revenue and profit performance higher than non‐SEZ registered firms. These results suggest policymakers/government should reduce administrative bottlenecks of registering as SEZ firms and operating in SEZ enclaves to increase the number of SEZ firm operations to induce performance and create room for fiscal revenue.