Singapore, October 4 — The economic stake in special economic zones, or SEZs, has been significant, according to research by Dr Corentin Cohen, Associate and Lecturer at the University of Oxford. Dr Cohen’s research, supported by a Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant under the EU Horizon programme, investigates how leading management consultancies and Big Four accounting firms influence state transformation in Africa and Latin America.
The research demonstrates that these firms have diversified into unprecedented advisory domains and expanded into emerging regions, as outlined in the presentation delivered on September 1, 2026, at the NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies.
Historical Involvement of Global Professional Service Firms
The presentation traced the historical involvement of global professional service firms beyond the conventional narrative that links their expansion in developing economies to the 1980s structural adjustment programmes, showing instead that these firms acted as pivotal brokers and intermediaries throughout the twentieth century. The presentation demonstrated that these firms designed and implemented key development instruments, including state planning policy design and institutional reshuffling, often embedding their own interests within institutional arrangements to generate new markets and contracts for their services.
The presentation showed that these firms have been implicated in high-profile corruption scandals and state capture in countries such as Angola and South Africa, as mentioned in the research.
Impact on Emerging Markets
The presentation sparked discussions among faculty and students interested in the role of professional service firms and technical experts in development. Dr Cohen’s work, co-authored with Professor Ronen Palan, highlights the significant impact of global professional service firms on the development of special economic zones and privatisation programmes in emerging markets. The presentation showed that consultancies and accounting firms have spearheaded the spread of special economic zones and privatisation programmes, operating as both brokers and institutional architects to produce lasting structural effects, as detailed in the research.
The article, published on 29 September 2026, includes an image from the NTU media library depicting a seminar event related to the Centre’s activities. No specific monetary figures, percentages, or quantitative outcomes regarding the economic impact of SEZs or privatisation programmes influenced by GPSFs were disclosed in the source material.
