Political Economy of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Development in Ghana: Regulatory Framework and Historical Institutional Challenges.

Political Economy of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Development in Ghana: Regulatory Framework and Historical Institutional Challenges. | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Political Economy of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Development in Ghana: Regulatory Framework and Historical Institutional Challenges. Nana Yaw Agyeman Owusu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8695727/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study examines the political economy of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Ghana, focusing on the challenges and complexities surrounding their institutional dynamics, governance structures, and stakeholder interests. This study employed a qualitative approach, utilizing both primary and secondary data, with a thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with key SEZ stakeholders. The results highlight Ghana’s expansive legal definition of SEZs, including single factory zones and free ports, which, while flexible, complicate focus and agglomeration benefits. Challenges in public-private partnerships, compliance, and governance, including corruption and insufficient stakeholder coordination, significantly affect the effectiveness of SEZs. The findings suggest that substantial reforms in governance and operational strategies are necessary to maximize the potential of SEZs as engines of economic development in Ghana. The findings underscore the importance of addressing institutional constraints, enhancing policy coherence, and fostering transparency and accountability to maximize the potential of SEZs as drivers of economic growth and development. This research focuses specifically on the political economy of SEZs in Ghana and provides a unique qualitative analysis of regulatory impacts utilizing thematic analysis of interviews with key stakeholders to reveal insights not covered in previous studies. Special Economic Zones Ghana Regulation Political Economy Corruption Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8695727","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":580238925,"identity":"53e316b9-33dd-4d1e-a131-f27747b99b36","order_by":0,"name":"Nana Yaw Agyeman Owusu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA6UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDADfjjrAAMDM1FaJBtg6ojWYnCAWC38s3sMH/O21SVuPn/+ADPPLwY5vhsJzK8L8GiRuHPG2Ji37XDithvJDMy8fQzGkjcS2Kxn4LPmRo6ZdG7bAaAWZqCWHobEDUAtxjx4dMhDtAAd1n8YrKWeoBYDiBbmxA0MQIfx/GBIMAD65TE+LYY30oqN/5w7bDzjRrLBwbkNEoYzzzxsY8anRe5G8saHM8rqZPv7Dz588OaPjTzf8eTDn/FpYWDgMIAzDzC2SQApCIkHsD9A4vwBk8wf8GsZBaNgFIyCEQYAzo1Ox63yRM0AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4859-8609","institution":"Institute of Statistical Social \u0026 Economic Research (ISSER)- University of Ghana","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nana","middleName":"Yaw Agyeman","lastName":"Owusu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-26 02:34:34","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8695727/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8695727/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":101180643,"identity":"795b0792-713a-4e6a-9b6d-bd8b7b2e6fc5","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-27 03:55:24","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":418141,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"PEresearchsquare.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8695727/v1_covered_78eea686-9247-44b9-a9d1-c3083ec12f93.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePolitical Economy of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Development in Ghana: Regulatory Framework and Historical Institutional Challenges.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"University of Ghana","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Special Economic Zones, Ghana, Regulation, Political Economy, Corruption ","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8695727/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8695727/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study examines the political economy of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Ghana, focusing on the challenges and complexities surrounding their institutional dynamics, governance structures, and stakeholder interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study employed a qualitative approach, utilizing both primary and secondary data, with a thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with key SEZ stakeholders. 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