Special Economic Zones in Africa: Comparing Performance and Learning from Global Experiences

By T. Farole. 2011

283 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Economic zones have grown rapidly in the past 20 years. In 1986, the International Labor Organization's (ILO's) database reported 176 zones in 47 countries; by 2006, it reported 3,500 zones in 130 countries. This huge growth occurred despite many zones having failed to meet their objectives; however, many others are contributing significantly to growth in foreign direct investment (FDI), exports, and employment, as well as playing a catalytic role in integration into global trade and structural transformation, including industrialization and upgrading. This study aims to address some of these questions and deliver an analysis that is both data-driven and policy-focused. The objective of the study is to explore the experience of zone programs, with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, to understand the factors that contribute to static and dynamic outcomes. It aims to provide input to the question of whether and how zones can make a significant contribution to job creation, diversification, and sustainable growth in African and other low-income countries.

Subfields: Economics and Econometrics, Political Science and International Relations

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/2e7d991ad3b783319544fc7d4d2180476293bd38

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Economics and Econometrics

1. J. Page
2. Lotta Moberg
3. Seth Schindler
4. A. Todes
5. Måns Söderbom
6. J. Kanai
7. A. Shimeles
8. I. Turok

In Political Science and International Relations

1. I. Turok
2. Lotta Moberg
3. Seth Schindler
4. A. Todes
5. J. Page
6. Måns Söderbom
7. J. Kanai
8. A. Shimeles

Citations in the corpus

• Aid, employment, and poverty reduction in Africa (2014, background): “A recent review concludes that most African SEZs have failed to reach the levels of physical, institutional, and human capital needed to attract global investors (Farole 2011).”
• Spatial inequalities and policies in South Africa: Place-based or people-centred? (2017, background): “Consequently, SEZs have generated very mixed results around the world (Farole, 2011).”
• Global Experiences with Special Economic Zones: With a Focus on China and Africa (2015, methodology): “Average Time Needed for Imports through Major Seaport to Customs Clearance (days) 12 Source: Farole 2011.”
• Getting the territory right: infrastructure-led development and the re-emergence of spatial planning strategies (2019, background): “A study on African SEZs notes that they “are not yet contributing to any significant dynamic benefits to their [national] economies,” and they “may shift permanently and prematurely to a low-growth path” (Farole, 2011, p. 62).”
• Is Small Beautiful? Small Enterprise, Aid and Employment in Africa (2015, background): “Surveys of manufacturing firms in Africa highlight a number of areas in which regulatory or administrative burdens impose cost penalties that limit the growth of firms (Clarke 2005; Yoshino 2008; Farole 2011).”
• The political economy of special economic zones (2014, background): “Different SEZ models may simply be relevant in different contexts and at different levels of development (Farole, 2011a: pp 2).”