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By Kyle Kessler
On October 20th, Dr. Douglas Zhihua Zeng joined our Case Study of Chinese Diplomatic Practices course to discuss the emergence of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), industrial clusters, and a case study he wrote detailing the success of one SEZ– The Suzhou Industrial Park. Dr. Douglas Zhihua Zeng is currently a senior economist for the World Bank with a focus on innovation, special economic zones, clusters, competitiveness, skills, and knowledge economy. SEZs, as a driver of economic development, were not at the forefront of development research, or even the public consciousness, until recently. In many ways, the growth and success of SEZs challenge the traditional policies for driving economic growth. To Dr. Zeng, the 2008 financial crisis challenged the ‘Reaganomics’ method of achieving growth and made the traditional model more difficult to apply to other areas. Counter to traditional growth policies, SEZs/industrial clusters are a combination of market and government intervention, and the success of these SEZs and industrial clusters present a different model for the rest of the world. According to the World Bank’s definition, the term SEZ refers to a wide-size, multifunctional and comprehensive area offering preferential policies to companies within the zone. In a broad sense, the term not only refers to the dozens of comprehensive SEZs, but also the Economic and Technological Development Zones (ETDZs), Free Trade Zones (FTZs), and Export Processing Zones (EPZs). These areas are characterized by their top-down approach – with significant planning, intervention, and orchestrated design from the central/local government – originally used as a testing ground for the market economy and new institutions. Originally instituted along the eastern coast of China, these new SEZs were meant to build and enhance the institutions of a market economy. |
谢芋韬供稿
2015年10月20日，清华-霍普金斯双硕士项目的必修课程《中国外交案例分析》由曾智华博士（Dr. Douglas Zhihua Zeng）主讲。曾智华博士讨论了中国的经济特区和产业集群，并介绍了他所撰写的一个案例研究。该研究详述了苏州工业园区的成功经验。曾智华博士现任世界银行高级经济学家，他的研究兴趣为创新、经济特区、产业集群、竞争力、技能和知识型经济。 经济特区虽然是促进经济发展的重要模式，长期以来却并未成为发展经济学研究的前沿领域，甚至不为公众所周知。在许多方面，经济特区的兴起和成功经验正在颠覆传统的经济增长政策。曾智华博士认为，2008年的世界性金融危机挑战了“里根经济学”，并令传统的经济模式显得与现实更加格格不入 。与传统的经济增长政策不同，经济特区及产业集群结合了市场与政府干预两种手段；而这些经济特区和产业集群的成功，为世界上其他国家提供了一个截然不同的发展模式。 根据世界银行的定义，“经济特区”指的是一片多功能的综合性区域，它为进驻区内的企业提供多项优惠政策。广义而言，经济特区也包括是国家级经济技术开发区、保税区、自由贸易区、和出口加工区等。特区的特点是“顶层设计”—–中央或地方政府为特区的建设精心计划、协调并在必要时加以干预。设立之初，国家将特区视作市场经济体制的实验室；建立于中国东部海岸四个经济特区，就此承担起建立和巩固市场经济体制的重任。与经济特区不同，中国产业集群的发展更像一种自发现象。提出“产业集群”概念的迈克尔·波特认为，产业集群是在相关领域具有横向和纵向联系的企业之集合。 |
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Nowhere has the success of the SEZ model been more pronounced than Shenzhen. Established in 1978, the Shenzhen SEZ has become the gold standard for the economic transformation these areas can initiate. By instituting land reform, streamlining the administrative management system to create ‘one stop shop services,’ labor market reforms, a foreign exchange transaction center and securities market, a high-tech equity market, and a performance auditing system for public-invested projects, Shenzhen was able to move from $89 per capita GDP in 1978 to $24,336 in 2014 and become home to some of China’s biggest and most innovative companies. As a whole, the success of the SEZs in China have contributed to a phenomenon known simply as “The Chinese Miracle.” As of 2007, SEZs, including all types of industrial parks and zones, have accounted for about 22% of Chinese GDP, 46% of FDI, and 60% of exports.
As other developing nations look to SEZs for their own growth and development purposes, Dr. Zeng identified several potential problems. The ‘mushroom approach,’ as he explained, is characterized by local-level and high-level overlaps at the later stage, resulting in a lack of demand and over capacity. Moreover, the creation of new SEZs must follow a market approach and pass a cost vs. benefit test. Other pitfalls include environmental degradation and a lack of balance between industrial development and social dimensions. Furthermore, as the presence of SEZs increases across China and the world, Dr. Zeng identified a possible race to the bottom on the part of governments, as investors shop around for the best deal for their particular investment needs – thus illuminating the necessity of market approaches when deciding of the feasibility of a new SEZ. Industrial clusters differ from SEZs in their bottom up approach, with many developing organically across China. According to Michael Porter, who introduced the idea, an industrial cluster is a collection of firms operating in related areas with horizontal and vertical linkages. Dr. Zeng then introduced his case study on the Suzhou Industrial Park. He explained the necessity of creating the narrative of your own case study, and separated the case study into key components. The first of these components, the situational profile, is followed by the impacts/success, challenges, lesson learned, and finally, recommendations. As Dr. Zeng closed, he discussed the applicability in replicating these SEZs and industrial clusters to other developing nations. The keys to the continued success of these drivers of economic growth (SEZs and industrial clusters) will center on linkages FDI can make between foreign and local firms, a balanced incentive structure between foreign firms and their local counterparts, relationships between companies and governments, and an upgrading of education and training systems to better equip local workforces. |
深圳经济特区的发展成就无处可出其右。成立于1978年的深圳经济特区，是经济特区带动国家发展的典例。通过土地改革、精简行政管理体系，打造“一站式服务”、建立劳动力市场、外汇交易中心和证券市场和审计公共投资项目，深圳的人均GDP从1978年的区区89美元增长到2014年的24336美元，并坐拥多家中国最大、最具创新性的公司。中国经济特区的成功被称为“中国奇迹。”2007年，中国所有的经济特区（包括各类工业园区和区）贡献了约22％的国内生产总值、46%外商直接投资和60%的出口总额。
不过，发展中国家运用经济特区模式发展经济的过程并非总是一帆风顺。曾智华博士指出，如雨后春笋般建立的经济特区会导致产能过剩，还会带来地方政府的“竞次”现象—–为了吸引投资者，各地政府不惜出台更加优惠的政策。因此，要创造新的经济特区，必须遵循市场原则，分析其成本和收益。另外，环境退化和经济发展与社会发展脱节等问题也值得关注。 曾智华博士以苏州工业园区为例，为我们阐述了研究经济特区的方法 。他解释说，案例研究需要原创性的叙事手法，并要遵循一定的行文原则：首先是背景介绍，然后是现状与挑战，之后为经验总结，最后提出政策建议。 在结语中，曾智华博士探讨了其他发展中国家能否复制经济特区和产业集群模式的问题。 他指出，经济特区和产业集群要想带来持续的经济增长，关键是要通过外国直接投资建立外国与本地企业间的联系，完善劳动力的培训机制，通过合理的激励机制营造公平的商业环境，理顺企业和政府之间的关系。 |
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