A Preliminary Analysis on Special Economic Zones in Southern Italy

Emanuele Millemaci (University of Messina)
Fabio Monteforte (University of Messina)
Paolo Mustica (University of Messina)

Abstract

The objective of this paper is twofold. First, it provides an analysis of the characteristics of firms that request and receive authorization to access the benefits offered by the special economic zones (SEZs). Second, it presents a preliminary analysis of the impact of Italian SEZs on firms in Southern Italy. To achieve this, the study relies on a panel dataset of Italian businesses, examining the effect of obtaining authorization for SEZ benefits on various firm-level variables. Preliminary results suggest that SEZs lead to a significant increase in capital stock. However, employment does not appear to react significantly in the first year(s) following approval.

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