Place-based policies, structural change and female labor: Evidence from India’s Special Economic Zones

Johannes Gallé, Daniel Overbeck, Nadine Riedel and Tobias Seidel

Journal of Public Economics, 2024, vol. 240, issue C

Abstract: This paper quantifies the local economic impact of special economic zones (SEZs) established in India between 2005 and 2013. Using a novel dataset that combines census information on the universe of Indian firms with geo-referenced data on SEZs, we find that the establishment of SEZs increased local manufacturing and service employment, with positive spillovers up to 10 km from the SEZ area. The analysis shows that the gains in manufacturing and service employment were accompanied by a decline in agricultural labor, especially for women, suggesting that the policy contributed to structural change. In further analysis, we document that significant local employment effects occur across different types of SEZs: privately and publicly run zones, and SEZs with different industry designations.

Keywords: Economic development; Female labor; Place-based policy; Spillovers; Structural change; Special Economic Zones (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O23 O53 R12 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:240:y:2024:i:c:s0047272724001956

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2024.105259

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