In Mexico, the establishment of special economic zones in four lagging regions of the country’s south is under way, with the objective of bridging the gap with other regions in Mexico. Measures to attract foreign investments include fiscal incentives to firms investing and creating jobs in those areas, and investments in the local infrastructure and human capital. For example, to bridge the gap between the centre and the periphery, the government of Israel implemented a programme that provides grants to co-finance R&D expenses of large firms’ R&D centres that relocate in the periphery, for a period of two to three years.