The Freeport Paradox: Crime, Harm and Reregulation in Special Economic Zones

The project builds on her previous research on global illicit product markets and flows (in pharmaceuticals, cocaine, tobacco, and counterfeit goods) to advance interdisciplinary knowledge of the criminogenic dimensions of special economic zones (SEZs), with an empirical focus on the UK’s new freeports. The UK government recently announced the creation of eight new freeports as part of their post-Brexit ‘levelling up’ agenda. Designed to boost economic growth by offering special regulatory measures and business incentives, the zones are being touted as hubs of global trade and investment that will bring about job creation and regional regeneration. However, evidence from freeports and other SEZs around the world suggests that such legal-spatial strategies present a range of economic, social and environmental challenges. From their implication in the global flow of illicit goods, through examples of indentured labour, environmental degradation and elite tax evasion, SEZs are key conduits of crime, harm and corruption in the global economy. Further analysis of their potential for facilitating various forms of crime and harm is therefore desirable to inform appropriate regulation and advance conceptualisation as the model evolves.