Labor standards and social conditions in free trade zones: the case of the Manaus free trade zone

The creation of the Manaus Free Trade Zone had a development purpose in the Brazilian political, economic and social scenario between 1960 and 1970. This industrial pole was an important device in achieving the desired development, populating a region considered deserted and exposed to external threats at that time. It has guaranteed the improvement on labor standards and social conditions in the Manaus’ district and has become the main driving force behind regional employment, higher salaries and growth over the past decades. Using the residuals and the stochastic frontier techniques to estimate the labor and social performances of the Manaus Free Trade Zone, the analysis confirms that the implementation of the special economic zone collaborated to labor and social efficiency in the area − compared to other important industrial Brazilian municipalities − due to the rigid checks conducted by SUFRAMA and the strict respect of labor standards applied in the MFTZ. Nevertheless, economic linkages in the region are still weak and positive spillovers from Manaus to its surroundings were probably inexistent.1960至1970年间，在巴西的政治、经济与社会语境中，设立马瑙斯自由贸易区（Manaus Free Trade Zone）的核心目标为推动区域发展。该产业集聚区是实现预期发展目标的重要政策工具，旨在开发当时被视为荒芜且面临外部威胁的地区。数十年来，该试验区不仅保障了马瑙斯地区劳工标准与社会状况的改善，更成为区域就业、薪资提升与经济增长的核心驱动力。 本研究借助残差法与随机前沿分析法（stochastic frontier techniques）评估马瑙斯自由贸易区的劳工与社会绩效，分析结果证实：相较于巴西其他重要工业城市，得益于马瑙斯自由贸易区管理局（SUFRAMA）实施的严格监管以及区内对劳工标准的严格恪守，该特殊经济区的设立确实助力了区域劳工与社会效率的提升。 尽管如此，该区域的经济联动仍较为薄弱，马瑙斯对周边地区产生的正向溢出效应大概率并不存在。