ARTYKUŁ
Conceptualising Economic Corridors
and Its Significance for South Asia
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South Asia Democratic Forum
Data publikacji: 30-06-2018
Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations 2018;54(2):79-103
SŁOWA KLUCZOWE
STRESZCZENIE
Economic corridors (ECs) have become the centre of attention of many planned
development initiatives worldwide. Yet no source has been able to provide a clear
definition. The definition of economic corridors remains challenged largely due
to the multitude of factors determining its genesis and nature, and thus no corridor
matches exactly the characteristics of another. Most of the conceptional work
analysing economic corridors has been conducted in the context of spatial planning
and geography, centred around urban development and potential spill-over effects
into peripheral (rural) areas, predominantly linked with ADB-initiated projects
in Southeast Asia. Although many studies about Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative
(BRI), and especially those concerning the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
(CPEC), have been published in recent years, it will turn out how far these BRIrelated analyses will contribute to the conceptualisation and commonly accepted
theoretical understanding of ECs. In brief, the paper understands ECs not only
as infrastructural measures facilitating transport but rather as a comprehensive
development approach to foster industrial capabilities, services, trade and investment.
It is therefore expected that the establishment of ECs will be accompanied by crucial
social and political impacts. To realise their full potential, economic corridors need
to determine their economic, organisational, institutional, behavioural, political,
and planning characteristics. Without these characteristics, any ‘corridor’ cannot
be considered ‘economic’. Furthermore, it is argued that these characteristics not
only describe economic corridors as such but also serve as indicators to measure
their feasibility, functionality, effectiveness and efficiency. Based on the existing
literature and the author’s own observations about ECs in Asia (Focus CPEC),
the paper offers a new conceptualisation of ECs based on identified characteristics
and indicators for the successful planning and implementation of ECs.