The Political Economy of the Implementing Dawei SEZ: Challenges and Opportunities for Sub Regional Economic Development

Economic development is directly connected with the development of technology of industries. Still, recent urbanization in Southeast Asia has been driven by rapid industrialization with little or unclear development planning and strategic overview. The provision of transportation infrastructure connectivity has lagged far behind the development process. To engage greater sub regional economic growth and connectivity, the subsequent of road or railroad linkage has necessarily been accommodated within an existing urban structure. Considering the cross-border transport infrastructure in East Asia, the location of Myanmar is crucial in connecting China, India and ASEAN countries. The idea of sub regional economic integration through trade linkage and infrastructure development has been central to the Southeast Asia region’s evolving political economy. As a former blind spot in the region, Myanmar is now pursuing its economic development in regional networks of trade and investment. Myanmar’s Dawei SEZ is an ongoing project in the southernmost coastal area of Myanmar to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and hope to end the long-term economic stagnation of the country. This paper concentrates on the political economy of implementing Dawei SEZ. It finds that in order to realize further industrialization, it is necessary to point out Myanmar’s political economy. These factors are suggested to be accompanied with the success of this project and the economic development of Myanmar. The paper concludes that the strong political and economic institutions and an overall climate in Myanmar that supports the investments in Dawei SEZ are more important in helping promote stable growth in the region.