Abstract
The context of world investment and trade has changed rapidly in the last two decades, enabling an increasing influence of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) as policy tools. The purpose of the article is to examine the fundamental conditions for efficient SEZs in Thrace. Through a policy-focused research based on institutional methodology, the article explores three main issues. These are: (a) How to design SEZs in Thrace, taking into serious consideration best practices applied worldwide; (b) How to ensure that SEZs in Thrace will be sustainable in the long-term, delivering dynamic gains to the region; (c) Which are the institutional pillars for maximizing SEZs benefits to Thrace. After analyzing the nature, scope, and content of SEZs, the article argues that improving Thrace’s comparative advantage requires a change in the mind set, away from the traditional reliance on wage restraint, focusing instead on forward-backward firm linkages and improvement of local production competitiveness.
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© 2013 Konstantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy, Athens
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Hazakis, K.J. (2013). Key Conditions for the Effectiveness of Special Economic Zones in Regional Development: Opportunities and Challenges for the Thrace Region. In: Sklias, P., Tzifakis, N. (eds) Greece's Horizons. The Konstantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy Series on European and International Affairs. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-34534-0_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-34534-0_19
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