Economic spillovers in spatial harvest behavior

This study examines the socio-economic impact of special economic zones (SEZs) in Cambodia---a prominent place-based policy established in 2005. The paper employs a database on existing and future SEZs in Cambodia with matched household surveys at the district level and documents stylized facts on SEZs in a low-income country setting. To identify causal effects of the SEZ program, the paper (i) constructs an alternative control group including future SEZ program participants and districts adjacent to SEZ hosts; and (ii) employs a propensity score weighting technique. The study finds that entry of SEZs disproportionately benefits female workers and leads to a decline of income inequality at a district level. However, the findings also suggest that land values in SEZ districts tend to rise while wage levels remain largely unchanged relative to other districts. In addition, the paper tests for socio-economic spillovers to surrounding areas and for agglomeration effects associated with clusters of multiple SEZs.

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Planning for 'The New Normal': Foresight and Management of the Possibilities of Socio-economic Spillovers due to COVID-19 Pandemic

Business Management and Strategy ◽

10.5296/bms.v11i1.17044 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 160

Author(s):

Mohamed Buheji ◽

Dunya Ahmed

Keyword(s):

Opportunity Cost ◽

Future Research ◽

New Normal ◽

The World ◽

The Way ◽

Economic Spillovers

The next normal will not look like any in the years preceding the COVID-19, a pandemic that changed many socio-economic situations around the world. In this paper, we shall explore the possibilities of the socio-economic spillovers that are expected in an unprecedented pandemic, studying their importance, how to deal with them to eliminate their "opportunity cost" on the next normal.A synthesis for the type of spillovers in the ‘new normal’, its future socio-economic challenges are presented to enhance the readiness to the coming era. In order to visualise the amount of the possibilities and opportunities of the socio-economic spillover, a framework is proposed, and then all the 480 possibilities are list. Tools are developed further to optimize the best socio-economic possibilities, which would different per the community condition and the stage of the new normal. The main implication of this work is that it would change the way any future pandemic or global emergency spillovers are evaluated or dealt with. This would establish a new path for future research in the ‘new normal guidance’ which are recommended as part of the conclusion. The framework and tools need to be further tested in more different conditions so that they can be globally generalised.

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