Visiting researcher in Kiel presents work on the economic impact of SEZs in Ethiopia

Doctoral researcher Matthew Amalitinga Abagna from University College Dublin will present his paper “Special Economic Zones and Agglomeration Economies, the Ethiopia Experience” at the Kiel Institute’s regular research seminar on 14 June 2022. The study focuses on the local economic impact of SEZs in Ethiopia, using nighttime light as a measure of district economic activity. Difference-in-differences estimates provide evidence for a significant positive effect of SEZs on the local economy, which however attenuates with distance from the SEZs. Moreover, privately owned SEZs in Ethiopia perform better than state-owned SEZs in driving economic agglomeration in the host districts. Mr. Amalitinga Abagna is in Kiel for a six-week long research stay as a guest of the Kiel team in the SEZ project.