IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/pubeco/v240y2024ics0047272724001956.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • Gallé, Johannes
  • Overbeck, Daniel
  • Riedel, Nadine
  • Seidel, Tobias

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Gallé, Johannes & Overbeck, Daniel & Riedel, Nadine & Seidel, Tobias, 2024. "Place-based policies, structural change and female labor: Evidence from India’s Special Economic Zones," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:240:y:2024:i:c:s0047272724001956
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2024.105259
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047272724001956
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2024.105259?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Walter Y. Oi & Todd L. Idson, 1999. "Workers Are More Productive in Large Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 104-108, May.
    2. Joseph G. Altonji & Todd E. Elder & Christopher R. Taber, 2005. "Selection on Observed and Unobserved Variables: Assessing the Effectiveness of Catholic Schools," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(1), pages 151-184, February.
    3. Rafael La Porta & Andrei Shleifer, 2014. "Informality and Development," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 28(3), pages 109-126, Summer.
    4. Federica Rossi & Magdalena Dej, 2020. "Where do firms relocate? Location optimisation within and between Polish metropolitan areas," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 64(3), pages 615-640, June.
    5. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Gobillon, Laurent, 2015. "The Empirics of Agglomeration Economies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 247-348, Elsevier.
    6. McMillan, Margaret & Rodrik, Dani & Verduzco-Gallo, Íñigo, 2014. "Globalization, Structural Change, and Productivity Growth, with an Update on Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 11-32.
    7. Gobillon, Laurent & Magnac, Thierry & Selod, Harris, 2012. "Do unemployed workers benefit from enterprise zones? The French experience," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(9-10), pages 881-892.
    8. Hasan, Rana & Jiang, Yi & Rafols, Radine Michelle, 2021. "Place-based preferential tax policy and industrial development: Evidence from India’s program on industrially backward districts," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    9. Maximilian v. Ehrlich & Tobias Seidel, 2018. "The Persistent Effects of Place-Based Policy: Evidence from the West-German Zonenrandgebiet," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 10(4), pages 344-374, November.
    10. Gabriel Chodorow-Reich, 2019. "Geographic Cross-Sectional Fiscal Spending Multipliers: What Have We Learned?," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 1-34, May.
    11. Mehrotra, Santosh K., 2019. "Informal employment trends in the Indian economy persistent informality, but growing positive development," ILO Working Papers 995066393502676, International Labour Organization.
    12. Venables, Anthony & Duranton, Gilles, 2018. "Place-Based Policies for Development," CEPR Discussion Papers 12889, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. Michael Greenstone & Richard Hornbeck & Enrico Moretti, 2010. "Identifying Agglomeration Spillovers: Evidence from Winners and Losers of Large Plant Openings," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 118(3), pages 536-598, June.
    14. Becker, Johannes & Riedel, Nadine, 2012. "Cross-border tax effects on affiliate investment—Evidence from European multinationals," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(3), pages 436-450.
    15. Shenoy, Ajay, 2018. "Regional development through place-based policies: Evidence from a spatial discontinuity," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 173-189.
    16. David Blakeslee & Ritam Chaurey & Ram Fishman & Samreen Malik, 2022. "Land Rezoning and Structural Transformation in Rural India: Evidence from the Industrial Areas Program," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 36(2), pages 488-513.
    17. Alonso Alfaro-Ureña & Isabela Manelici & Jose P Vasquez, 2022. "The Effects of Joining Multinational Supply Chains: New Evidence from Firm-to-Firm Linkages," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 137(3), pages 1495-1552.
    18. Amrit Amirapu & Michael Gechter, 2020. "Labor Regulations and the Cost of Corruption: Evidence from the Indian Firm Size Distribution," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(1), pages 34-48, March.
    19. Gordon, Roger & Li, Wei, 2009. "Tax structures in developing countries: Many puzzles and a possible explanation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(7-8), pages 855-866, August.
    20. Kathleen Beegle & Joachim De Weerdt & Stefan Dercon, 2011. "Migration and Economic Mobility in Tanzania: Evidence from a Tracking Survey," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(3), pages 1010-1033, August.
    21. repec:oup:qjecon:v:129:y:2014:i:2:p:939-993. is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Enrico Moretti, 2014. "Local Economic Development, Agglomeration Economies, and the Big Push: 100 Years of Evidence from the Tennessee Valley Authority," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(1), pages 275-331.
    23. Matthew Blackwell & Stefano Iacus & Gary King & Giuseppe Porro, 2009. "cem: Coarsened exact matching in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 9(4), pages 524-546, December.
    24. Wang, Jin, 2013. "The economic impact of Special Economic Zones: Evidence from Chinese municipalities," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 133-147.
    25. Jia, Junxue & Ma, Guangrong & Qin, Cong & Wang, Liyan, 2020. "Place-based policies, state-led industrialisation, and regional development: Evidence from China's Great Western Development Programme," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    26. Yeseul Hyun & Shree Ravi, 2018. "Place-based Development: Evidence from Special Economic Zones in India," Boston University - Department of Economics - The Institute for Economic Development Working Papers Series dp-306, Boston University - Department of Economics.
    27. Martin Rama, 2002. "Globalization and Workers in Developing Countries," Economics Study Area Working Papers 41, East-West Center, Economics Study Area.
    28. Stephan Klasen & Janneke Pieters, 2015. "What Explains the Stagnation of Female Labor Force Participation in Urban India?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 29(3), pages 449-478.
    29. Thomas Farole & Lotta Moberg, 2014. "It Worked in China, so Why not in Africa?: The Political Economy Challenge of Special Economic Zones," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-152, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    30. Mariya Brussevich, 2020. "Socio-Economic Spillovers from Special Economic Zones: Evidence from Cambodia," IMF Working Papers 2020/170, International Monetary Fund.
    31. Jeffry M. Netter & William L. Megginson, 2001. "From State to Market: A Survey of Empirical Studies on Privatization," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(2), pages 321-389, June.
    32. Sazzad Parwez & Vinod Sen, 2016. "Special Economic Zone, Land Acquisition, and Impact on Rural India," Emerging Economy Studies, International Management Institute, vol. 2(2), pages 223-239, November.
    33. Gabriel Chodorow-Reich & Matthew Smith & Owen Zidar & Eric Zwick, 2024. "Tax Policy and Investment in a Global Economy," Working Papers 328, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    34. Matthew Grant, 2020. "Why Special Economic Zones? Using Trade Policy to Discriminate across Importers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(5), pages 1540-1571, May.
    35. Binkai Chen & Ming Lu & Christopher Timmins & Kuanhu Xiang, 2019. "Spatial Misallocation: Evaluating Place-Based Policies Using a Natural Experiment in China," NBER Working Papers 26148, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    36. Chiara Criscuolo & Ralf Martin & Henry G. Overman & John Van Reenen, 2019. "Some Causal Effects of an Industrial Policy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(1), pages 48-85, January.
    37. Einiö, Elias & Overman, Henry G., 2020. "The effects of supporting local business: Evidence from the UK," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    38. Matias Busso & Jesse Gregory & Patrick Kline, 2013. "Assessing the Incidence and Efficiency of a Prominent Place Based Policy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(2), pages 897-947, April.
    39. Kaivan Munshi & Mark Rosenzweig, 2016. "Networks and Misallocation: Insurance, Migration, and the Rural-Urban Wage Gap," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(1), pages 46-98, January.
    40. Neumark, David & Simpson, Helen, 2015. "Place-Based Policies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 1197-1287, Elsevier.
    41. J. Vernon Henderson & Adam Storeygard & David N. Weil, 2012. "Measuring Economic Growth from Outer Space," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(2), pages 994-1028, April.
    42. Uy, Timothy & Yi, Kei-Mu & Zhang, Jing, 2013. "Structural change in an open economy," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(6), pages 667-682.
    43. Mihir A. Desai & C. Fritz Foley & James R. Hines, 2009. "Domestic Effects of the Foreign Activities of US Multinationals," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 1(1), pages 181-203, February.
    44. Esther Duflo, 2012. "Women Empowerment and Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(4), pages 1051-1079, December.
    45. Callaway, Brantly & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C., 2021. "Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 200-230.
    46. John Laitner, 2000. "Structural Change and Economic Growth," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 67(3), pages 545-561.
    47. Simon Alder & Lin Shao & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2016. "Economic reforms and industrial policy in a panel of Chinese cities," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 305-349, December.
    48. Barry Bosworth & Susan M. Collins, 2008. "Accounting for Growth: Comparing China and India," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(1), pages 45-66, Winter.
    49. Neumark, David & Kolko, Jed, 2010. "Do enterprise zones create jobs? Evidence from California's enterprise zone program," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 1-19, July.
    50. Sascha O. Becker & Peter H. Egger & Maximilian von Ehrlich, 2013. "Absorptive Capacity and the Growth and Investment Effects of Regional Transfers: A Regression Discontinuity Design with Heterogeneous Treatment Effects," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 5(4), pages 29-77, November.
    51. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pb:p:2165-2214 is not listed on IDEAS
    52. Oi, Walter Y. & Idson, Todd L., 1999. "Firm size and wages," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 33, pages 2165-2214, Elsevier.
    53. Hans R.A. Koster & Fang Fang Cheng & Michiel Gerritse & Frank G. van Oort, 2019. "Place‐based policies, firm productivity, and displacement effects: Evidence from Shenzhen, China," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(2), pages 187-213, March.
    54. Bina Agarwal & Pervesh Anthwal & Malvika Mahesh, 2021. "How Many and Which Women Own Land in India? Inter-gender and Intra-gender Gaps," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(11), pages 1807-1829, November.
    55. Sam Asher & Paul Novosad, 2020. "Rural Roads and Local Economic Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(3), pages 797-823, March.
    56. Sam Asher & Tobias Lunt & Ryu Matsuura & Paul Novosad, 2021. "Development Research at High Geographic Resolution: An Analysis of Night-Lights, Firms, and Poverty in India Using the SHRUG Open Data Platform," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 35(4), pages 845-871.
    57. Gabriel Chodorow-Reich & Matthew Smith & Owen M. Zidar & Eric Zwick, 2024. "Tax Policy and Investment in a Global Economy," NBER Working Papers 32180, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    58. Parwez, Sazzad, 2016. "A study on Special Economic Zone implicated land acquisition and utilisation," International Journal of Development and Conflict, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, vol. 6(2), pages 136-153.
    59. Balz R. Bodenmann & Kay W. Axhausen, 2012. "Destination choice for relocating firms: A discrete choice model for the St. Gallen region, Switzerland," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 91(2), pages 319-341, June.
    60. Farole, Thomas & Moberg, Lotta, 2014. "It worked in China, so why not in Africa? The political economy challenge of Special Economic Zones," WIDER Working Paper Series 152, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    61. Sun, Liyang & Abraham, Sarah, 2021. "Estimating dynamic treatment effects in event studies with heterogeneous treatment effects," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 175-199.
    62. World Bank & International Finance Corporation, 2011. "Fostering Women's Economic Empowerment through Special Economic Zones," World Bank Publications - Reports 27441, The World Bank Group.
    63. Brian McCaig & Nina Pavcnik, 2021. "Entry and Exit of Informal Firms and Development," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 69(3), pages 540-575, September.
    64. Ozler, Sule, 2000. "Export Orientation and Female Share of Employment: Evidence from Turkey," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(7), pages 1239-1248, July.
    65. Görg, Holger & Mulyukova, Alina, 2024. "Place-based policies and firm performance: Evidence from Special Economic Zones in India," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    66. Douglas Gollin & David Lagakos & Michael E. Waugh, 2014. "The Agricultural Productivity Gap," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(2), pages 939-993.
    67. Yi Lu & Jin Wang & Lianming Zhu, 2019. "Place-Based Policies, Creation, and Agglomeration Economies: Evidence from China's Economic Zone Program," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 325-360, August.
    68. Sonali Das & Ms. Sonali Jain-Chandra & Ms. Kalpana Kochhar & Naresh Kumar, 2015. "Women Workers in India: Why So Few Among So Many?," IMF Working Papers 2015/055, International Monetary Fund.
    69. Chaurey, Ritam, 2017. "Location-based tax incentives: Evidence from India," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 101-120.
    70. Iacus, Stefano M. & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2012. "Causal Inference without Balance Checking: Coarsened Exact Matching," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 1-24, January.
    71. Conley, T. G., 1999. "GMM estimation with cross sectional dependence," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 1-45, September.
    72. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Gobillon, Laurent, 2015. "The Empirics of Agglomeration Economies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 247-348, Elsevier.
    73. repec:hal:pseose:hal-00812979 is not listed on IDEAS
    74. Alkon, Meir, 2018. "Do special economic zones induce developmental spillovers? Evidence from India’s states," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 396-409.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhao, Chuanmin & Qu, Xi, 2024. "Place-based policies, rural employment, and intra-household resources allocation: Evidence from China’s economic zones," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    2. Hu, Wanqi & Huang, Wangen & Wu, Jianxin & Zhang, Chaokai, 2024. "Place-based policies and local human capital accumulation: Evidence from China's special economic zone program," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    3. Jia, Junxue & Ma, Guangrong & Qin, Cong & Wang, Liyan, 2020. "Place-based policies, state-led industrialisation, and regional development: Evidence from China's Great Western Development Programme," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    4. Hasan, Rana & Jiang, Yi & Rafols, Radine Michelle, 2021. "Place-based preferential tax policy and industrial development: Evidence from India’s program on industrially backward districts," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    5. Görg, Holger & Mulyukova, Alina, 2024. "Place-based policies and firm performance: Evidence from Special Economic Zones in India," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    6. Blakeslee, David & Chaurey, Ritam & Fishman, Ram & Malik, Samreen, 2018. "Structural Transformation and Spillovers from Industrial Areas," IZA Discussion Papers 11886, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Zhao, Chuanmin & Xie, Rui & Ma, Chunbo & Han, Feng, 2022. "Understanding the haze pollution effects of China's development zone program," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    8. Abagna, Matthew Amalitinga, 2023. "Special Economic Zones and Local Economic Activities in Ethiopia," MPRA Paper 117427, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Cui, Yi, 2024. "Place-based policies and capital misallocation: Evidence from Chinese cities," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 48(4).
    10. Tian, Wenjia & Wang, Zhi & Zhang, Qinghua, 2024. "Land allocation and industrial agglomeration: Evidence from the 2007 reform in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    11. Blakeslee,David & Chaurey,Ritam & Fishman,Ram & Malik,Samreen, 2021. "Land Rezoning and Structural Transformation in Rural India : Evidence from the Industrial Areas Program," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9541, The World Bank.
    12. Xi, Qiangmin & Mei, Lin, 2022. "How did development zones affect China’s land transfers? The scale, marketization, and resource allocation effect," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    13. Li, Xiaoying & Wu, Xinjie & Tan, Ying, 2021. "Impact of special economic zones on firm performance," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    14. Zheng, Liang, 2021. "Job creation or job relocation? Identifying the impact of China's special economic zones on local employment and industrial agglomeration," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    15. Neumark, David & Simpson, Helen, 2015. "Place-Based Policies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 1197-1287, Elsevier.
    16. Simon Alder & Lin Shao & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2016. "Economic reforms and industrial policy in a panel of Chinese cities," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 305-349, December.
    17. Tien Manh Vu & Hiroyuki Yamada, 2023. "Impacts of enterprise zones on local households in Vietnam," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 593-612, December.
    18. Shenoy, Ajay, 2018. "Regional development through place-based policies: Evidence from a spatial discontinuity," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 173-189.
    19. Tien Manh Vu & Hiroyuki Yamada, 2022. "Do enterprise zones promote local business development? Evidence from Vietnam," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(4), pages 1206-1224, September.
    20. Görg, Holger & Mulyukova, Alina, 2022. "Place-Based Policies and Agglomeration Economies: Firm-Level Evidence from Special Economic Zones in India," IZA Discussion Papers 15123, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic development; Female labor; Place-based policy; Spillovers; Structural change; Special Economic Zones;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O23 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Fiscal and Monetary Policy in Development
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:240:y:2024:i:c:s0047272724001956. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505578 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.