Special Economic Zones in China and India: A Comparative Analysis

This chapter compares and contrasts the SEZ experiences of China and India, two fast-growing major economies of the world, by revisiting the evolutionary process, institutional arrangements, and performance of SEZs from a political-economy perspective. The objective is to reveal the contextual factors that determine the outcome of the SEZ policy. Our analysis suggests that it is the broader political and economic contexts within which SEZs are embedded that underlie the differences in the SEZ experiences of China and India. The study enriches the literature that focuses on the conditions determining success and failures of SEZs.