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Industrial clusters: The case for Special Economic Zones in Africa

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  • Carol Newman
  • John Page

Abstract

Firms tend to cluster in close geographic proximity to each other to benefit from reduced transport costs, shared inputs, and productivity spillovers due to learning and technology transfers. Evidence from low-income countries suggests that such agglomeration economies may be substantial in endogenously formed clusters. This raises the question of whether spatial industrial policies can be designed to facilitate clustering. In this paper, we consider the case for creating Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Carol Newman & John Page, 2017. "Industrial clusters: The case for Special Economic Zones in Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-15, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2017-15
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    Cited by:

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    2. Athukorala, Prema-chandra & Narayanan, Suresh, 2018. "Economic corridors and regional development: The Malaysian experience," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 1-14.
    3. Mwanda Phiri & Shimukunku Manchishi, 2020. "Special economic zones in Southern Africa: white elephants or latent drivers of growth and employment?: The case of Zambia and South Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2020-160, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Serigne Bassirou Lo & Lassana Cissokho, 2023. "Financial development, institutions and industrialization in sub‐Saharan Africa," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 35(2), pages 152-164, June.
    5. Konté,Maty & Kouame,Wilfried Anicet Kouakou & Mensah,Emmanuel Buadi, 2021. "Structural Reforms and Productivity Growth in Developing Countries : Intra- or Inter-Reallocation Channel ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9733, The World Bank.
    6. Fernandes,Ana Margarida & Forero,Alejandro & Maemir,Hibret Belete & Mattoo,Aaditya, 2019. "Are Trade Preferences a Panacea? : The African Growth and Opportunity Act and African Exports," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8753, The World Bank.
    7. Shi, Buchao & Huang, Liangxiong & Wei, Shengmin & Geng, Xinyue, 2022. "Overseas industrial parks and China's outward foreign direct investment," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    8. Gemechis Guteta & Hailu Worku, 2024. "The role of industrial parks in managing sustainability challenges of urban transition: empirical analysis of the context in Adama and Hawassa Industrial Parks of Ethiopia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(11), pages 27827-27853, November.
    9. Abagna, Matthew Amalitinga, 2023. "Special Economic Zones and Local Economic Activities in Ethiopia," MPRA Paper 117427, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose & Federico Bartalucci & Susanne A. Frick & Amelia U. Santos‐Paulino & Richard Bolwijn, 2022. "The challenge of developing special economic zones in Africa: Evidence and lessons learnt," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(2), pages 456-481, April.
    11. Richard Chauke, 2022. "Special Economic Zones: Is it an Elixir for economic growth in South Africa," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 33(1), pages 16-27, July.
    12. Abel Kinyondo & Carol Newman & Finn Tarp, 2016. "The role and effectiveness of Special Economic Zones in Tanzania," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-122, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    13. Douglas Zhihua Zeng, 2022. "What Determines the Heterogeneous Performance of Special Economic Zones? Evidence from Sub‐Sahara Africa," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 13(4), pages 495-506, September.
    14. Jiabo Xu & Xingping Wang, 2020. "Reversing Uncontrolled and Unprofitable Urban Expansion in Africa through Special Economic Zones: An Evaluation of Ethiopian and Zambian Cases," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, November.
    15. Altenburg, Tilman & Chen, Xiao & Lütkenhorst, Wilfried & Staritz, Cornelia & Whitfield, Lindsay, 2020. "Exporting out of China or out of Africa? Automation versus relocation in the global clothing industry," IDOS Discussion Papers 1/2020, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    16. Lin, Boqiang & Sai, Rockson, 2022. "Has mining agglomeration affected energy productivity in Africa?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 244(PA).

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