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Urbanising the Villages: Three modes of village incorporation and the implications for structural transition in India’s “Chinese-style” special economic zones (SEZs)

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  • Goodburn, Charlotte

Abstract

This article examines outcomes of three different modes of in-situ urbanisation in the context of large “Chinese-style” Special Economic Zone (SEZ) development in rural India, arguing that mode of village incorporation has an important impact on development outcomes for local populations. It compares three Indian cases with the early stages of the SEZ “model” in China’s Shenzhen, where urban villages emerged, a thriving rentier economy grew, and structural transition was combined with distinctive infrastructural and governance outcomes. Although much work has examined macro-level economic contributions of India’s SEZs, little attention has been paid to implications for local areas beyond initial protests over dispossession, and none has focused on impacts for those whose rural settlements are enveloped by the new industrial area. Whether India’s new urban villages experience similar structural transformation to their Chinese counterparts is therefore unknown.

Suggested Citation

  • Goodburn, Charlotte, 2025. "Urbanising the Villages: Three modes of village incorporation and the implications for structural transition in India’s “Chinese-style” special economic zones (SEZs)," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:188:y:2025:i:c:s0305750x2400353x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106882
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    References listed on IDEAS

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