Environmental Regulation in China: Institutions, Enforcement, and Compliance

Even though China has created an administrative structure and regulatory programs to curb pollution, environmental quality has continued to deteriorate. Are polluters following the rules? And what factors affect the way regulators and polluters alike have responded to China's environmental controls? This thoroughly documented study examines these central questions by analyzing compliance with environmental programs involving wastewater discharge standards, fees, and permits. The successes and failures of these programs are followed in comprehensive case studies and remarkably candid surveys of factory managers in six Chinese cities. The authors' exploration of the evolution of SOEs and TVEs, the nature of Chinese negotiation, and the role of Confucian tradition has important implications for our understanding of regulation throughout China's industrial complex. Their final chapter adds an international context by comparing Chinese water pollution control programs with their counterparts in the United States.