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/lp/springer-journals/a-political-economy-of-free-zones-in-gulf-arab-states-the-fraught-iJR6jtNM2c
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing
- Copyright
- © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
- ISBN
- 978-3-030-71273-0
- Pages
- 227 –242
- DOI
- 10.1007/978-3-030-71274-7_8
- Publisher site
- See Chapter on Publisher Site
Abstract
[Free zone development is not a static process but rather one that evolves alongside domestic, regional, and international factors. Following the collapse of oil prices in 2014–2015, regional governments continued to announce new free zone projects and initiatives. The incorporation of free zone characteristics into large-scale national projects and long-term development strategies in Gulf Arab states will ensure that free zones remain salient features of the region’s political economy over the coming decades. The multifaceted roles of existing and nascent free zones in the Gulf depend on global trade and investment flows, which experienced extraordinary shocks in 2020. New economic reforms—namely the easing of foreign ownership regulations, increasing local labor requirements, and imposing new taxes and fees—threaten to diminish many of the traditional business incentives associated with free zones in the Gulf. As Gulf Arab governments push forward with messy and often nonlinear processes of economic reform and diversification efforts, free zones demonstrate the persistence of rentier structures in Gulf economies.]
Published: Apr 14, 2021
Keywords: Neom; Economic diversification; Rentierism; Reform; Oil; Gas; Regulation