The Expansion of Special Economic Zones in African Countries: A Consolidation of the Upper Circuit of the Urban Economy in the Early 21st Century?

L'expansion des zones économiques spéciales dans les pays africains : une consolidation du circuit supérieur de l'économie urbaine au début du XXIe siècle ?

Abstract

The first decades of the 21st century were marked by a significant expansion of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) on the African continent, as their number increased from 20 in 1990 to 237 in 2020, revealing the concern of African states to promote a new wave of industrialization. Building upon the conceptual and historical content contained in the Theory of Urban Economy Circuits - developed by Milton Santos in the 1970s - this article seeks to characterize the expansion process of these SEZs as well as investigate to what extent this process is responsible for the consolidation of the upper circuit of urban economy in African cities. The research methodology is structured around an exploratory approach involving collecting, systematizing, and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data obtained from secondary sources. This study will likely contribute to interdisciplinary scientific debates regarding the presence of SEZs in territories of the Global South and to geographical debates at the interface between Economic, Urban, and Regional Geography.

Keywords:
Special Economic Zones; urban economic circuits; upper circuit; industrialization; African continent