Role Of Special Economic Zones Research Articles

Fostering entrepreneurship and development in rural mountainous regions: the role of SEZs and local economic dynamics in Gilgit-Baltistan

PurposeThis study aims to examine the perceptions and opinions of relevant stakeholders regarding entrepreneurship opportunities and growth in the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) province of Pakistan. Specifically, it focuses on the role of special economic zones (SEZs), such as Maqpondass SEZ and the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), in fostering nascent entrepreneurship (NE) and promoting regional development.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs ordered logistic regression to estimate the relationship between various independent variables and nascent entrepreneurship (NE). The independent variables include awareness of CPEC (AAC), awareness of Maqpondass SEZ (AAMEZ), SEZ incentives (SEZInc), regional market competitiveness (RMC), loan availability (LA) and education and experience (EE).FindingsThe findings indicate a robust positive relationship between SEZ-based industries and the growth of local small businesses and enterprises in Gilgit-Baltistan. Furthermore, the study suggests that government incentives, access to finance, skill development, relevant knowledge, and connections with local businesses facilitate the establishment of new ventures.Practical implicationsThe study underscores the importance of focusing on human capital development, providing financial assistance, and creating incentives for adopting advanced technology to foster the growth of local businesses in Gilgit-Baltistan through SEZs. It emphasizes the need for policymakers and stakeholders to prioritize initiatives that support entrepreneurship and innovation in the region.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing literature by providing novel insights into the perceptions of entrepreneurship development in Gilgit-Baltistan, particularly concerning the influence of natural resources and SEZs. It fills a gap in the research by offering valuable implications for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners seeking to promote sustainable economic development in the region.

Роль специальных экономических зон в государственной политике приграничных регионов Казахстана: пример СЭЗ Qyzyljar

The article explores the role of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the state policy of Kazakhstan's border regions. It analyzes the impact of SEZs on economic activity, investment attraction, and job creation in these areas. Key aspects of SEZ operation are discussed, including integration into international economic processes, infrastructure improvement, and the development of foreign economic relations. The study employs methods such as the analysis of regulatory frameworks, economic-statistical analysis, comparative analysis. The results indicate that SEZs play a significant role in stimulating economic growth and integrating Kazakhstan into the global economy. However, there are issues that require further enhancement of state policy and management of these zones.

The Role of Tax Expenditures in Enabling Illicit Financial Flows

The role tax expenditures play in fostering or facilitating illicit financial flows has so far not been studied extensively. We provide an explorative overview of the linkages between tax expenditures and illicit financial flows in both source and recipient countries. In a second step, we focus on three kinds of mechanisms. In source countries we analyse the role of special economic zones and tax expenditures that target the extractive sector. In recipient countries we study the use of patent boxes and related mechanisms to attract intangible assets. Bilateral tax treaties, meanwhile, can act as facilitators of illicit financial flows because they provide legal devices with which to shift profits away from source countries, and add another layer of complexity to the tax system. To address the use and abuse of tax expenditures in this context, the transparency, tax certainty and simplicity of tax systems should be strengthened by any government trying to protect its tax base.

ВЛИЯНИЕ РЕГИОНАЛЬНОЙ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОЙ СТРАТЕГИИ НА ВНЕШНЮЮ ТОРГОВЛЮ КИТАЯ

China, being one of the largest economic players in world trade, is actively developing and implementing regional economic strategies. They have a significant influence on its foreign trade. China’s regional economic strategies include various measures to support product exports, create special economic zones, and attract foreign investment. These and other measures are aimed at stimulating foreign trade, since a decline in China’s foreign trade volumes has become apparent this year. The features of China’s regional economic strategy are examined, and emphasis is placed on the role of special economic zones in China’s economic development and foreign trade.

Effectiveness of Special Economic Zones as a Strategy for Economic Development in Sri Lanka

Economic development is the ultimate destination of human civilization commenced with subsistence agriculture to globally industrialized output, served with artificial intelligence-based services, for the purpose of enhancing standards of living. Uneven distribution of resources in the globe was mapped with an economic intention as in the form of investments to accomplish desired economic development goals in given geographical boundaries without claiming against the natural realities. Nations, governments, and business partners designed deliberate gatherings with respect to clearly defined boundaries as various forms of zones to undertake economic, socio cultural, technological and political paradigms in the long run. The main objectives of the article is to evaluate the effectiveness of special economic zones as a strategy for economic development in Sri Lanka. In addition, it is expected to explore the evolution and scattering of special economic zones in the Asia, to identify the role of special economic zones in Sri Lanka and to investigate challenges and prospects of promoting special economic zones in Sri Lanka. The study is purely based on secondary data and qualitative analytical approach is used to derive conclusions. Investment attempts by Sri Lanka after trade liberalization broaden the scope of industrialization as it led towards novel experience to both production and consumption while making sensible structural changes. Export Processing Zones transferred villages to cities not only adding value to the gross domestic product but also to human lives. The portfolio of especial economic zones of Sri Lanka was expanded with the time but within limited scope of operation. Corruptions, delays, cost inefficiencies and policy mismatch are key challenges for Sri Lanka to overwhelm, in order to attract foreign direct investments. However unmatchable locational advantage, resource endowment, literacy as well as upcoming investment zones like Port-City are the core prospects to position demand for foreign direct investments in the region.

Special economic zones of Kazakhstan as a tool to stimulate economic growth

This article is devoted to the study of the role of special economic zones (SEZ) in Kazakhstan as an effective tool for stimulating economic growth. The article analyzes the experience of functioning of special economic zones in Kazakhstan, reveals their main characteristics and advantages. The main attention is paid to the economic and social effects achieved through the creation and development of such zones. The impact of SEZs on industrial development, innovation activity, unemployment reduction and promotion of technological progress in the country is considered.

Accessibility analysis in spatial planning: A case of special economic zones (SEZs) in Campania, Southern Italy

The strategic role of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) at the Italian level has also been underlined by the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which has provided an important economic endowment to relaunch the national economy, in general, and the Campania region territorial economy, in particular. Literature and best practices clearly show that many factors determine the success of a SEZ, with transport accessibility being one of the key factors. This study performs a transport accessibility analysis both at national and first/last-leg levels, by comparing the accessibility of the Campania SEZ areas, the other SEZ areas in Italy and all the other Italian local labour systems. The study focuses on the Campania region, as it represents the first Italian pilot project of spatial planning through the establishment of SEZs. The Campania region exhibits, on average, good transport accessibility both at a national level (considering the multi-modal freight Italian transport network) and at a first/last-leg level (considering relevant nodes of the network, such as tollbooths, freight stations, ports, interports and airports). Also, the impact of SEZ implementation on land use planning has been discussed, to provide a useful tool for stakeholders that are interested in revitalizing the area, at different levels: i) land use policymakers, to plan interventions/planning concerning infrastructures and spatial planning; ii) national policymakers, to establish SEZs in other geographical areas; iii) investors, to assess the convenience of investments in this geographical area.

Assessment of the impact of industrial-type special economic zones on the socio-economic development of regions

The relevance of the topic is related to the study and assessment of the impact of industrial-type special economic zones on the socio-economic development of regions. Industrial-production zones are territories with an area of up to 40 square kilometers located in economically developed regions of the state with a large number of industrial–production enterprises, experienced workers with high qualifications, natural resources and developed transport infrastructure. This is part of the state customs territory, where certain types of products are produced, and investors carry out their activities on preferential terms, which affects the development of the country's economy. The main purpose of the work is to study the types of special economic zones in the Russian Federation, to analyze the activities of special economic zones of the industrial and production type of the Russian Federation, as well as to assess the impact of special economic zones on the socio-economic development of regions. The analysis includes the main indicators and trends determining the effectiveness of the functioning of industrial-type special economic zones operating on the territory of the Russian Federation. The main conclusions of the study are that for the Russian Federation, the creation and further deployment of effective activities of special economic zones is important in order to solve acute strategic tasks, spatial development of the country and reduce inequality in the socio-economic development of regions, therefore, 8 new zones were created in 2022. As of 2023, there are 25 zones in Russia, besides 6 new zones are being created. The role of special economic zones in regional development is significant: economic diversification, localization of foreign capital, production of import-substituting goods, creation of new jobs, development of competition.

Перспективы использования в России механизмов функционирования особых экономических зон Китая

Subject. The article is devoted to the role of special economic zones (SEZ) in the system of regional development of China and Russia. Goal. The main purpose of the study is to study the possibility of using in the Russian experience of the organization and development of the SEZ those positive trends that have accumulated during the operation of the SEZ of China. Method or methodology. The research is based on a general scientific methodology, which provides for the use of comparative analysis, analysis of available sources, statistical data analysis method, retrospective analysis. Results of the work. Based on the conducted research, we can come to the following conclusions: creating and developing special economic zones, it is necessary to carry out total and permanent control by state bodies, as well as implement a system that allows sharing risks between actors. The trends characteristic of the development of Chinese special economic zones are identified and the prospects for their application in the Russian Federation are evaluated. Conclusions. The analysis shows that it is important for specialists from Russia to keep in mind the differentiation of economic situations, as well as the peculiarities of the development of politics, society and culture in Russia and China. Scrupulous work is required aimed at adapting the Chinese FEZ system to function in the conjunctural conditions of Russia, taking into account the specific conditions and needs of Russian industries and regions, determining priorities for development and implementation of activities. At the same time, it is necessary to create conditions for the use of the principle of openness in the management of the SEZ.

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

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.

Special Economic Zones of Russia: Forecasting Decisions of Potential Residents and Resident Generation Process Modeling

Modern studies widely discuss the role of special economic zones in stimulating the economic growth and development of Russia, generating the necessary investment flows and increasing the country's innovative potential by expanding production in high-tech sectors of the economy with high added value. The purpose of the study is to model the process of generating residents and to determine quantitative factors that have a statistically significant effect on the average annual growth rate of companies participating in special economic zones in the Russian Federation. The paper describes modern approaches to predicting the choice of potential residents to start doing business in the territory of the SEZ using classification approaches (Support Vector Machines, Decision Trees, Random Forest, Naive Bayes, K-Nearest Neighbor, Gradient Boosting) and regression approaches (logistic regression). A modern classification algorithm was applied in practice - Histogram-based Gradient Boosting Classification Tree, which is stable for analyzing large data with missing variable values and does not require preliminary sample transformation. The paper confirms the hypothesis that there is a positive relationship between the location of the organization and its financial result forming by the end of the year. On average, in the sample, resident companies located near the centers of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are more successful in terms of generated revenue. The hypothesis that there is a strong relationship between indicators of spatial differentiation of the regions of the Russian Federation and indicators characterizing the process of generating residents and private investment has not been fully confirmed. From a practical point of view, the results of the study could be applied by both resident organizations, potential residents, and SEZ management companies. The theoretical significance of the study lies in the specification of the proposed binary choice model for potential residents, which can be expanded and generalized in future works. At present, there are all the necessary prerequisites for creating conditions for the development of industry, high-tech sectors of the economy and the production of high value-added products in order to increase the stability of the Russian economy.

POLICIES, PERFORMANCE AND POLITICS OVER SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES (SEZS): THE CASE OF INDIA FOR VALUE CREATION

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes the evolving role of special economic zones (SEZs) in India following the SEZ Act, 2005 and their contribution to regional development, urbanization, employment, export activity, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow and productivity. Despite criticisms of preference to industry over agriculture and forceful acquisition of land causing displacement and migration of rural masses, the SEZs have registered a positive impact through value creation. Their relevance has become more emphatic in the context of the UNCTAD’s launching of the Global Alliance of SEZs (GASEZ). The final segment of the paper offers a prescriptive recommendation to adherence of policies over politics. Keywords Special Economic Zone, employment, urbanization, international trade

Investigating the role of special economic zones in employment rate and welfare level

یکی از راه‌های توسعه منطقه‌ای توجه به بحث مناطق ویژه اقتصادی است. ایجاد مناطق ویژه اقتصادی با هدف افزایش و توسعه صادرات، ایجاد اشتغال، جذب سرمایه‌گذاری و انتقال تکنولوژی و افزایش درآمد عمومی و سایر موارد صورت می‌پذیرد و پیامدهای اقتصادی، سیاسی، اجتماعی و فرهنگی گسترده‌ای را باخود به ارمغان می‌آورد. هدف پژوهش حاضر بررسی نقش مناطق ویژه اقتصادی در میزان اشتغال‌زائی و سطح رفاه در شهرهای ساحلی شمالی است. ایجاد مناطق ویژه اقتصادی یکی از اهداف برنامه‌ریزی‌های راهبری، منطقه‌ای و ملی است که با هدف افزایش اشتغال و رفاه عمومی انجام می‌گیرد. اجرای چنین برنامه‌هایی مستلزم هزینه و فعالیت‌های گسترده‌ای است که باید پیامدهای آن پاسخگوی زمان و هزینه بالای آن باشد. جامعه آماری این پژوهش شامل مدیران و کارشناسان مناطق ویژه اقتصادی در سه منطقه امیرآباد، نوشهر و آستارا به تعداد 136 تن می‌باشد. روش تحقیق از نظر هدف، کاربردی و از نظر روش گردآوری داده‌ها، توصیفی - پیمایشی است. ابزار اصلی گردآوری داده‌ها، پرسشنامه است که سطح روایی و پایایی آن، برای تمامی سازه‌ها اندازه‌گیری و تائید شد. پس از تجزیه‌وتحلیل داده‌ها با استفاده از معادلات ساختاری در قالب نرم‌افزار Lisrel مشخص شد که: مناطق ویژه اقتصادی نقش مثبت و معنی‌داری در میزان اشتغال در شهرهای ساحلی شمالی دارند اما؛ بین مناطق ویژه اقتصادی و سطح رفاه ساکنین شهرهای ساحلی شمالی رابطه معناداری یافت نشد.

The Role of Special Economic Zones and their Socio-Economic Impact on Delhi/NCR

The Role of Special Economic Zones and their Socio-Economic Impact on Delhi/NCR

The Strategic Role of Special Economic Zones in Economic Development: A Special Case of Shanghai Free Trade Zone

This study is dealing with the strategic changes in the Chinese Economy in the light of launch of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. In this process, it has used secondary data from the government sources for analysis the state of economy as well the development efforts in the last one year of the launch of CSPFTZ. The thrust of the study was to assess the reform processes on administrative and financial sectors. This study also deals with the mechanisms of transition of China from the mixed economy to the market economy. However, it is assumed that China has not become a complete market economy and still in the mid of major transition. The models political economy for the transition economy are assessed with the help of existing theories. From the study it was found that in the initial stage of establishment of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, there were several change were brought in to administrative and financial sector level. These developments are also compared with other existing free trade zone. Despite being the second largest economy in the world China maintains very strategic and rigorous control over its capital. After three decades of economic liberalization the monetary control of China is still persisting. This China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone was also an attempt to taste its limits in terms of these two key monetary aspects of Chinese Economy; floating exchange rate and currency convertibility. It is really important to assess that what are the outcomes of this pilot project but this was one of the vital features of launching Shanghai Free Trade Zone.

Attracting FDI to the Western Balkans: Special Economic Zones and Smart Specialisation Strategies

This paper investigates the role of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the Western Balkans in supporting industrial policy for economic development. It shows that Serbia and North Macedonia have both implemented policies to establish networks of SEZs that have attracted a relatively large amount of new foreign direct investment, mainly into the motorcar and components industries. Although many jobs have been created and some improvements in export competitiveness have occurred, there is no evidence of improvements in labour productivity or widespread technology spill-over to local economies. The import intensity of production is extremely high, implying little linkage to local economies. The qualitative interviews further reveal limited linkages between SEZ-based companies and local businesses, limited technology transfer, and a lack of appropriate skills among the workforce. In particular, there is insufficient capacity in the motorcar components supply chain. The paper concludes that governments have used SEZ policies as an alternative to regional and local development policies based on smart specialisation. In order to take advantage of the opportunity offered by SEZs, governments in the region should put more effort into developing local supply chains, aligning their policies towards SEZs and smart specialisation in order to leverage the advantages of an increased inflow of direct foreign investment for sustainable economic development in the future.

The geography of openness to foreign trade in Poland: The role of special economic zones and foreign-owned entities

Abstract The aim of this paper is to present the spatial distribution of openness to foreign trade assessed at the local level (LAU 1, poviats) in Poland, between 2005 and 2012, with particular reference to its two determinants: activity of foreign-owned enterprises (FOEs) and functioning of special economic zones (SEZs). With the use of data from different sources, including the foreign trade statistics for the Polish regions, constituting a set of indicators on openness to foreign trade, we deliberate on the determinants and the character of regional openness, as well as the quality of the proxies used in order to assess their spatial distribution. Our results indicate high regional dissimilarities in terms of export activity, correlated with the broader picture of regional inequalities. The role of FOEs has been crucial in determining the spatial distribution of exports. As regards the SEZs, their sole contribution increased significantly during the time span. In the times of the world financial crisis, the export performance diversity of poviats increased temporarily but diminished afterwards.

Regime Stability in Anocracies: The Role of Special Economic Zones

In the two decades since Fukuyama’s famous claim of an ‘end of history,’ the number of democratic regimes increased and the number of autocratic regimes decreased, but the number of anocracies – mixed or institutionally inconsistent regimes – remains the same or slightly higher. This article presents a theory of institutionally inconsistent regime stability. Stability in all regimes is due to reinforcing and consistent institutional structures that create self-enforcing equilibria, which in turn induces elites to work together towards regime stability. The use of special economic zones (SEZs) in institutionally inconsistent anocracies allow the existing elite to prescreen and preselect new members in the winning coalition, thus creating a more consistent institutional environment in which elites are more likely to work together. Elites are chosen based upon 1) potential economic contribution and 2) potential to challenge the existing political order. This study empirically examines the role of special economic zones (SEZs) – geographically restricted investment areas with special benefits. SEZs allow for preselection and screening through the offer of special benefits and the negotiation of contracts. I use an original set of SEZ panel data covering 160 countries from 1995–2010 to examine regime stability. I first use a fixed effects model to confirm that autocracies and democracies are more stable than anocracies. I then use a Heckman selection model to examine the interaction between SEZs and regime types. I find evidence that the use of SEZs in anocracies significantly increases regime stability and marginally decreases it in autocracies.

Aspects and Pitfalls of Sez on Rural Economy of Maharashtra

The objectives of the study in a nutshell are as follows (1) To analyze the basic concept of SEZ in Indian Economy, (2) To analyze the impact of SEZ on Indian Economy, as a whole. (3) To find the impact of SEZ on Rural India. (4) To find the drawbacks, if there, of implementing SEZ in India. This study aims at examining the impact of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) on human development and poverty reduction in India. It identifies three channels through which SEZs address these issues: employment generation, skill formation (human capital development), and technology and knowledge upgradation. the relationship between poverty and employment lies in the extent to which income generated from employment permits workers and their dependants to obtain goods and services necessary to meet minimum needs. Poverty reduction thus calls for the creation of remunerative, regular and good-quality jobs in the labour market. SEZs, if promoted vigorously can therefore act as an initiator in the process of human development and poverty alleviation in India. The role of SEZs in human capital formation appears to be relatively limited. Most SEZ units impart on-the-job training to their workers. Keywords: Special Economic Zone (SEZ), local employment, Land ownership, Economic impacts.

Trajectories of China’s Integration with the World Economy through SEZs: A Study of Shenzhen SEZ

By exploring the role of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in China’s integration with the world economy, we also investigate the underlying challenges faced by the economy. This analysis suggests that SEZs enabled the Chinese economy to trigger its growth standards and to achieve its ambition of integrating with the world economy without compromising its political ideology. This transformation, however, has been accompanied by a few challenges of late that have been posing obstacles to the broader process of development. We argue that the experience of Chinese SEZs provides a number of policy directions for other economies, which may be followed with discrimination.