ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a minimalist structure for reconstruction zones (RZs), taking into account the basic premises in designing economic policies so as to avoid the major pitfalls in past peace processes. RZs would consist of two distinct but linked areas to ensure synergies between them: a local-production zone (LRZ) producing for domestic consumption, and an export-oriented (ERZ) one producing exclusively for foreign markets. With donors and government support, at the national and local levels, and an appropriate legal framework, reconstruction zones could help make aid less disjointed and fragmented than in the past, and more effective and better integrated. They can also reduce aid dependency pressure on donors by attracting foreign investment and raising exports. National governments and foreign interveners should stop trying to build schools for which there are no teachers, or create clinics for which there are no doctors and medicines, or service roads for which there is no legal product to transport.
