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Chakraborty, T. (2022). Locational Strategy of Special
Economic Zones in India. Studies in Microeconomics,
23210222221111.
The establishment of special economic zones (SEZs)
in Indian districts is intended to bring rapid economic
growth to India. However, the data on SEZs show that
SEZs are concentrated in only a few Indian districts and
thus aggravate the problem of regional inequality. In this
paper, the strategy of concentration of SEZs is analyzed
with a backdrop of the new economic geography
theory. The data of the variables are extracted from
Census 2011 and other sources for all 640 districts. The
Tobit model is used to determine the locational factors
behind the establishment of the SEZs in a district of
India. The results show that the variables such as
urbanization, distance from megacity, districts with a
seaport and districts with airports have a significant
impact on the number of SEZ approvals as well as SEZ
notifications. The concentration of SEZs is mainly due to
favorable market and infrastructural conditions.
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