Are Parks in Emerging Countries Delivering?

Abstract

Despite the rather ambiguous evidence base, technology and industrial park models have retained their attractiveness to policymakers the world over as instruments to promote trade, employment opportunities, innovation, and economic development. The question is, do they deliver on their expected benefits? Following an overview of the key parameters of interest, the chapter first dwells on instances of successful implementation of both technology and industrial parks. Whilst successes are clear and evident, their development stories do not diverge much from the predictions of theory and existing success stories in developed contexts. Successes also remain the exception rather than the rule. As a consequence, the remainder of the chapter evaluates the large number of parks in operation that have provided much more dubious benefits to their tenants and host regions. The chapter offers a comprehensive examination of key stumbling blocks that render technology and industrial parks partial or complete failures.