ECONOMICALLY PRIVILEGED ZONES IN THE WORLD ECONOMY

Abstract

Abstract. Economically privileged zones were not created in the 20th or the 21st centuries as their basics were seen in the Middle Ages. More than half a century has passed since the first modern economically privileged zones were established. Over time, the zones have evolved constantly changing their operation principles and form; the number of zones on the global scale reflects their continual growth. The major objective of economically privileged zones has not substantially changed despite lasting existence of the zones. Apparent targets of economically privileged zones presented in the article are as follows: economic development, export development as well as growth in employment sector – these are main objectives of forming the instrument of economic policy, which are connected with the factors peculiar to a certain zone, for example innovation-based growth which has been popular in recent years or the emphasis on strengthening the competitiveness in the region. The purpose of the paper is to describe the types of economically privileged zones and to indicate the direction of their development over a few years of operating. The publication dwells on the development potential of global economically privileged zones. To accomplish the identified goals the descriptive research method is applied.