Economic and Geographical Impact of Development Poles: Industrial and Commercial Transformations of the Forestry Sector in Gabon

Le résumé fourni par la source

This paper explores the effects of the cessation of forest commodity exports and the implementation of an industrialization strategy in Gabon, drawing on traditional theories of regional growth. The creation of the Nkok Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in 2012, accompanied by its strategic location and significant infrastructure investments, illustrates the application of Rosenstein-Rodan’s “Big Push” and Douglass-North’s “export base” theories. These initiatives also led to a polarization process consistent with the work of Perroux and other theorists of unbalanced regional growth. The study assesses the impact of this SEZ on regions external to the SEZ and the macroenvironment during the period 2014–2022. It highlights the industrial and commercial mechanisms that promote agglomeration economies, technological diffusion, the creation of economic connections, and the structuring into “core-periphery” zones, in accordance with the concepts of Hirschman. The results show a strong positive correlation between industrial income, exports (excluding raw materials), and industrial production. However, the ban on the export of wood raw materials led to a negative relationship between industrial income and exports of these products. Furthermore, the local processing of forest products has promoted industrial diversification, generated new products, and gradually increased added value. The process of economic and geographical polarization is described as a transitional phase of imbalances whose long-term implications require in-depth studies, particularly in the context of countries in the South and underdeveloped environments.

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