Socio-Economic Spillovers from Special Economic Zones

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.

Local Environmental Policy in a Federal System: An Overview

A number of issues arise when considering the positive and normative implications of local environmental policy making. This paper provides an overview of some of the issues and implications. These vary depending on whether local jurisdictions are charged with determining the stringency of policies or instead stringency is determined at a higher level of government and the local role focuses on implementation and the design of cost-effective measures for achieving the required goals. Key issues include both physical and economic spillovers across jurisdictions, and the extent to which stringency can be differentiated based on local conditions or preferences.

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

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.

Foresighting Economic Spillovers Towards Transformative Change

This paper critically reviews the challenges and the opportunities that economic spillovers bring to different sectors. The purpose is to investigate how such spillover could be utilised for the benefit of slow-developing countries as Africa and the Middle East. The work of Karlsson et al. (2018) is used as the main reference for this study. The outcome of this study shows the importance of having the proper strategies, policies and the right clusters that support the positive exposure of the spillovers as per the country’s competitiveness advantage or needs. This work would have a further implication on the decision-makers and governments that are trying to re-invent their countries economic resources and boost its limited productivity.