Monga, Célestin2012-03-192012-03-192011-12-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/3667They are being hailed as the new Holy Grail of economic development. The success of special economic zones (SEZ) in general and specialized ones in particular (industrial and technology parks) in countries as diverse as Australia, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and more recently, China; Korea; Taiwan, China; or Mauritius, has led several African leaders to launch new similar initiatives. This paper establishes a common point of reference for those who believe in the virtues of SEZs, explains why the many existing ones have not delivered the expected outcomes, and summarizes the key issues on the agenda. It then suggests cluster-based industrial parks as the most effective tool for developing competitive industries and generating employment, and provides some practical guidance to development practitioners and policymakers on the road ahead.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCOUNTINGADMINISTRATIVE CONTROLSADVANCED COUNTRIESADVANCED ECONOMIESAGRICULTUREBARRIERS TO ENTRYBOND MARKETBONDED WAREHOUSEBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTSBUSINESS OPPORTUNITIESBUSINESS PRACTICESCAPITAL ACCUMULATIONCAPITAL INTENSITYCAPITAL MARKETSCOMMODITYCOMMODITY PRICESCOMPARATIVE ADVANTAGECOMPARATIVE ADVANTAGESCOMPETITIVE MARKETCOMPETITIVENESSCONFLICT OF INTERESTCONSUMERSCREDIBILITYCURRENCYCURRENCY DEVALUATIONSDEVALUATIONSDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPING COUNTRYDEVELOPMENT BANKDEVELOPMENT ECONOMICSDEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONSDEVELOPMENT POLICYDEVELOPMENT STRATEGIESDIVIDENDSDOMESTIC ECONOMYDOMESTIC MARKETSDRIVERSECONOMIC ACTIVITYECONOMIC BENEFITSECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC DOWNTURNECONOMIC GEOGRAPHYECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC HISTORYECONOMIC PERFORMANCEECONOMIC POLICIESECONOMIC PROGRESSECONOMIC THEORYECONOMIES OF SCALEELASTICITYEMERGING ECONOMIESEMPIRICAL STUDIESENVIRONMENTSEXPENDITUREEXPENDITURESEXPORT BASEEXPORT GROWTHEXPORTSEXTERNALITIESEXTERNALITYFINANCIAL RESOURCESFINANCIAL SERVICESFINANCIAL SUPPORTFINANCING ARRANGEMENTSFOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTFOREIGN EXCHANGEFOREIGN FIRMFOREIGN FIRMSFOREIGN INVESTMENTFOREIGN INVESTORSFREE TRADEGDPGLOBAL ECONOMYGLOBAL MARKETGLOBAL MARKETSGLOBAL TRADEGLOBALIZATIONGOVERNANCE ISSUESGOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONGROWTH RATESHARMONIZATIONHUMAN CAPITALINCOMEINCOME LEVELINCOME TAXINDIVIDUAL FIRMSINDUSTRIALIZATIONINEFFICIENCYINFORMATION FLOWINFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTSINNOVATIONINNOVATIONSINSTITUTIONAL CONSTRAINTSINTANGIBLEINTERMEDIATE INPUTSINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERNATIONAL COMMERCEINTERNATIONAL MARKETSINVESTMENT CLIMATEINVESTMENT CLIMATE REFORMSJOB CREATIONLABOR FORCELABOR LAWSLABOR POLICIESLABOR REGULATIONSLABOR STANDARDSLAND PARCELSLAND REFORMSLEGAL FRAMEWORKLETTERS OF CREDITLIVING STANDARDSLOCAL BUSINESSLOCAL GOVERNMENTSLOW-INCOME ECONOMIESMACROECONOMIC MANAGEMENTMACROECONOMIC POLICIESMACROECONOMICSMARKET STANDARDSMIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIESMINIMUM WAGEMUNICIPAL BONDMUNICIPAL BOND MARKETNATIONAL ECONOMIESNATIONAL ECONOMYNET EXPORTSPERSONAL INCOMEPOLICY ENVIRONMENTPOLITICAL CONSIDERATIONSPOLITICAL ECONOMYPOTENTIAL INVESTORSPRIVATE INVESTMENTPRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENTPRIVATIZATIONPRODUCERSPRODUCTIVITYPRODUCTIVITY GROWTHPRODUCTIVITY INCREASESPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC FINANCEPUBLIC INVESTMENTPUBLIC SPENDINGPUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPSQUALITY STANDARDSRAPID DEVELOPMENTRECURRENT EXPENDITURESRED TAPEREGULATORY AGENCIESREMOTE AREASRENT SEEKINGRENTSSAFETYSERVANTSSKILLED LABORSMALL BUSINESSSMALL BUSINESSESSTRUCTURAL CHANGESUPPLIERSSUSTAINABLE GROWTHTAX CREDITTAX RATESTAX REVENUETECHNICAL ASSISTANCETECHNOLOGY TRANSFERTELECOMMUNICATIONSTRADE POLICIESTRADE UNIONSTRANSACTIONTRANSACTION COSTSUNDERDEVELOPED CAPITAL MARKETSUNEMPLOYMENTUNSKILLED WORKERSVALUE ADDEDWAGESWORLD ECONOMYWORLD MARKETWTOWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-5900