Promoting dynamic & innovative growth in Asia

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. Especially, some special economic zones and business hubs in Asian countries such as South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as Dubai, have been quite successful in terms of innovative and dynamic economic growth. Not all of the zones in the countries were successful: some of those were recognized as so-called "white elephants." As successful cases received more and more attention, however, there has been a steady increase in the need to learn the secret of success from these cases in terms of policy implications. This paper was designed to fulfill these needs, and especially to be a fine policy guide book for developing countries which will introduce special economic zones as a way to boost their economies in the near future. The subject cases of this study include the Masan Free Trade Zone and Incheon Free Economic Zone in Korea, the Shanghai special economic zone in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Dubai. In this study, special economic zones are classified into two types, industrial zones and business hubs, analyzing each type's success factors and policy implications. The examples of successful SEZs in industrial zone-type included the Masan Free Trade Zone and Shanghai special economic zone. These zones are the representative SEZs which have functioned as industry and economy boosters, along with the industrial clusters of the surrounding areas. The examples in business hub-type zones were Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai. The Incheon Free Economic Zone in Korea was also considered in the same category, which focuses on switching to a new innovative economy and growing into a business hub for the Northeast Asian region.