The role of special economic zones (SEZs) in achieving sustainable development in Nigeria

Abstract

The development and implementation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) has become one of the main directions of investment policies to many economies. The creation of SEZs is aimed at attracting foreign investment and boosting the entry of their manufacturers into the world market. This paper assesses the impact of SEZ programs on the sustainable development in Nigeria and define how SEZs contribute to employment and exports in selected sub-Saharan African countries. Furthermore, the effectiveness of certain types of financing in the main sectors and the level of their impact on sustainable development in Nigeria was analyzed. It was revealed that the mining sector financing methods do not seem to support or deliver on Nigeria's development goals, making it completely ineffective given the issues identified as well as the sector's contribution to improving the country's socio-economic performance. In other words, Nigeria should create various mechanisms and models for financing its manufacturing and agro-industrial complex through the creation of SEZs, as well as create the necessary preferential regimes in these sectors that can attract and direct huge investments in the manufacturing agricultural industries of these sectors. The authors developed a model for the relationship of investment with these indicators in African countries. A model was used to determine the degree to which job growth (p) and exports (e) are dependent on investment in special economic zones (SEZs). They conclude that the investment in SEZs is positively associated with job growth and exports.