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

Author

Listed:
  • Will Bartlett

    (London School of Economics and Political Science, UK)

  • Besnik Krasniqi

    (University of Prishtina, Kosovo)

  • Jasmina Ahmetbasic

    (Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Will Bartlett & Besnik Krasniqi & Jasmina Ahmetbasic, 2019. "Attracting FDI to the Western Balkans: Special Economic Zones and Smart Specialisation Strategies," Croatian Economic Survey, The Institute of Economics, Zagreb, vol. 21(2), pages 5-35, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:iez:survey:ces-v21_2-2019_bartlett-krasniqi-ahmetbasic
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wang, Jin, 2013. "The economic impact of Special Economic Zones: Evidence from Chinese municipalities," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 133-147.
    2. Slavo Radosevic & Katerina Ciampi Stancova, 2018. "Internationalising Smart Specialisation: Assessment and Issues in the Case of EU New Member States," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 9(1), pages 263-293, March.
    3. International Monetary Fund, 2015. "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: Selected Issues," IMF Staff Country Reports 2015/243, International Monetary Fund.
    4. Hummels, David & Ishii, Jun & Yi, Kei-Mu, 2001. "The nature and growth of vertical specialization in world trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 75-96, June.
    5. Bojan Shimbov & Maite Alguacil & Celestino Suárez, 2016. "International Production Networks and Economic Growth: The Case of the Western Balkan Countries," Eastern European Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(1), pages 49-70, January.
    6. International Monetary Fund, 2015. "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: Fourth Post-Program Monitoring Discussions," IMF Staff Country Reports 2015/018, International Monetary Fund.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Krasniqi, Besnik & Ahmetbasić, Jasmina & Bartlett, Will, 2022. "Foreign direct investment and backward spillovers in the Western Balkans: the context, opportunities and barriers to the development of regional supply chains," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115391, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Branimir Jovanović & Nina Vujanović, 2023. "Towards Effective Industrial Policy in the Western Balkans," wiiw Policy Notes 66, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
    3. Nebojša Stojčić & Korneliusz Pylak & Dubravka Jurlina Alibegović, 2022. "The spatial impact of entrepreneurial zones: firm, city and inter-city evidence," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(12), pages 2164-2176, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    special economic zones; smart specialisation; technology transfer; skills; supply chains;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L52 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Industrial Policy; Sectoral Planning Methods
    • O25 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Industrial Policy
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • O52 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Europe
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

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