Poland’s Special Economic Zones: Effects on Regional Economic Development

Research Seminars: ZEW Research Seminar

The paper presented in this ZEW Research Seminar studies Poland’s special economic zones (SEZs) established in 1995-1998, which attract investors through corporate income tax exemptions amounting to up to 70% of investment costs. Focusing on employment and wage responses at the municipal level in an event-study specification with staggered adoption spanning 1995-2016, the authors find a  17% increase in the employment rate of treated municipalities 10 years after SEZs establishment, and a  27% increase after 20 years. The mean effect of one more permit issued to an investor operating in a SEZ on the municipal employment rate is estimated at 2.2%.  It is found no effect on wages. While no employment spillovers are found for direct neighbors of SEZ municipalities, SEZs appear to boost employment in more faraway areas.

Venue

Online

People

Boryana Madzharova Ph.D

Boryana Madzharova // Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU)

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