Throughout the developing world, many countries have created special economic zones to attract investment and spur industrial growth. In some cases, these zones are designed to promote development in poorer regions with limited market access and lower quality infrastructure, an example of a...

Qianhai – an innovation park in Shenzhen – has the possibility of boosting innovation in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and in the wider region. This paper analyses the costs and benefits of existing plans for Qianhai and discusses the profit-maximising design of the Qianhai. We review existing...

This article investigates the main determinants of private investment in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). After checking for unit root and co-integration, Error Correction Model is specified, and three estimators are performed: Dynamic Fixed-Effects, Mean Group, and Pooled...

In Russia, industrial development has significantly slowed down for the past 20 years and the federal government strives to seek new methods to attract foreign direct investments (FDIs) and stimulate economic growth. Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are utilised by governments to develop and...

After 1991 economic reforms, India relaxed investment regulation norms, allowing states to form their own investment policy frameworks. Withdrawal of controls exercised by the central government to approve investments in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Export Oriented Units (EOUs) has...

Around the world, there are 4,300 special economic zones throughout more than 130 countries: the zones in Asian countries have been quite successful, while on the other hand, those of Africa and some other countries have not performed well so far. In particular, some special economic zones and...

Special Economic Zones (SEZ) have played an important role in Panama's successful growth story over the previous decade. SEZ have attracted local and foreign investment by leveraging a business-friendly environment of low transaction costs, and created many stable, well-paid jobs for...

Special economic zones, one of the most important instruments of industrial policy in developing countries, often feature export share requirements. That is, firms located in these zones are obliged to export more than a certain stated share of their output to enjoy the wide array of incentives...

On 2 February 2016, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released certain Guidelines to regulate banking operations in the free zones in Nigeria titled “Guidelines for Banking Operations in the Free Zones in Nigeria 2016” (CBN Guidelines). Essentially, the CBN Guidelines aims to: (x) complement...

Special economic zones can be an effective instrument to promote industrialization if implemented properly in the right context. In China, starting in the 1980s, special economic zones were used as a testing ground for the country's transition from a planned to a market economy, and they are a...