Special Economic Zones: Revisiting the Policies

The book examines the concept and evolution of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), overviews the international experiences with SEZ experiment and critically evaluates the performance of the Chinese experiment of SEZs to provide insights into their potential for promoting industrial and economic development in India. SEZs lead to a marked development of human skills, infrastructural developments and FDI inflow, provided it is backed by a strong policy framework that stimulates innovation and training. A view of the social, economic and political dimensions of SEZs also make it imperative to look at the most important components of the economy – farmers and workers. The Chinese experience of SEZs has been colored with diverse opinions, and is this the economic model that Indian policymakers want to emulate? How bright will the Indian SEZ picture look under private ownership? The struggle of ‘growth’ versus ‘displacement’ makes SEZs so explosive that they have become the flashpoints in a conflict with ripple effects of wider socio-political issues. There has been an alarming ‘proliferation’ of SEZs without any ‘humane displacement policy’ and welfare measures. We certainly have to look for ways to make the SEZs more meaningful and acceptable to society. The book focuses on various dimensions of SEZs to provide the readers with an in-depth understanding of SEZs in the form of well-written articles by experts in a synchronized format. The book will cater to the needs of SEZ developers and industrialists, policy planners, economists and management practitioners.