Location Determinants of Japanese Multinationals in Poland: Do Special Economic Zones Really Matter for Investment Decisions?

We investigate the location determinants of Japanese multinationals in Poland using a regional data set from 1991 to 2001. Special attention is placed on the geographically targeted investment incentives (Special Economic Zones, SEZs) that were created during this period. Controlling for a more comprehensive set of region-specific characteristics than previously employed to evaluate SEZ importance, we find that our results are broadly consistent with previous FDI location choice studies. However, unlike other studies, the SEZ measure’s statistical significance disappears when we control for a number of additional regional characteristics.