Regulatory Compliance when the Rule of Law Is Weak: Evidence from China’s Environmental Reform

Yee, Wai-Hang; Tang, Shui-Yan; Lo, Carlos Wing‐Hung

doi:10.1093/jopart/muu025

Cited by 36 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Such a habit is different from a “culture of compliance” in many Western countries, which is premised on a general respect for the rule of law (Gunningham, Thornton, & Kagan, ). In China, once enterprise executives perceive a strong “political wind” toward heavy‐handed enforcement, they understand the importance of “taking cover” for the moment regardless of their individual circumstances (Yee et al, ). Such political winds can also be translated into more rigorous enforcement by local agencies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political Commitment, Policy Ambiguity, and Corporate Environmental Practices

Liu¹,

Tang²,

Zhan³

et al. 2015

Policy Studies Journal

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A lack of clear political commitment together with confusing rules and enforcement often characterize the institutional context of policy implementation and regulatory compliance in developing countries. By connecting such contextual features to existing models of policy implementation and regulatory compliance, we examine how regulatory factors are related to basic and proactive corporate environmental management practices in the Pearl River Delta region in China. Drawing on data derived from both a survey and in-depth interviews, we show that a perception of clear political commitment to environmental protection across multiple government levels and units is positively associated with business efforts in basic environmental practices, regardless of the specific enforcement intensity. Nevertheless, a perception of clear political commitment is not related to proactive environmental practices. Conversely, a perception of policy ambiguity, in the form of confusing regulatory standards and enforcement, is negatively associated with corporate efforts in both basic and proactive environmental practices; yet, intensive inspections mitigate these negative associations with policy ambiguity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political Commitment, Policy Ambiguity, and Corporate Environmental Practices

Liu¹,

Tang²,

Zhan³

et al. 2015

Policy Studies Journal

Self Cite

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“…In addition, research suggests that individuals are more likely to adopt legally sanctioned and proactive environmental practices if they understand the regulations being enforced and their purpose (Yee et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Knowledge of why a regulation was implemented provides a sense of legitimacy to the fishing rules and the agencies responsible for their creation and enforcement (Tyler 1997;Tyler and Jackson 2014). In addition, research suggests that individuals are more likely to adopt legally sanctioned and proactive environmental practices if they understand the regulations being enforced and their purpose (Yee et al 2016).…”

Section: Lessons Learnedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Catch and Release: The Effectiveness of an Educational Class for Anglers Caught with Fishing Citations

Saul¹,

Rosario

2019

Fisheries

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Formal regulatory structures, such as government‐imposed size limits or bag limits, are standard tools used by managers to achieve fisheries management in most countries. Regulations are most effective if followed by the angling community, which is predicated upon anglers understanding and accepting the regulations. To enhance compliance with fishing regulations and improve the management of fisheries resources, Biscayne and Everglades National Parks established a Fisheries Education Class program that was open to the community and available to anglers cited with a fishing violation in exchange for a reduced or waived fine. Here, we describe this program and quantitatively evaluate its effectiveness by measuring and comparing the self‐efficacy and attitudes of participants before and after the class using generalized linear models with repeated measures. Results showed that the Fisheries Education Class was effective at improving the self‐efficacy of anglers toward understanding and applying the regulations and improved the attitudes of the participants toward fishing regulations.

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“…The role of risk-reduction motivations, on the other hand, has not been studied extensively in the context of China. But given the general lack of effective legal protection of businesses against government impositions in China (Yee et al 2014), risk-reduction motivations are likely to affect corporations' environmental practices.…”

Section: Enterprise-level Motivationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But if enterprise executives believe that regulations are reasonable, clear, and relatively easy to follow, they are more likely to take action to engage in EM and comply with regulations (Kuperan and Sutinen 1998). In China, because of an underdevelopment of the rule of law and the importance of informal relations (guanxi), the regulatory process can be seen as rather arbitrary from the perspective of regulated enterprises (Wang et al 2003;Yee et al 2014). Enterprise executives' perception of the regulatory process (such as whether they believe regulatory enforcement is fair, and whether they believe the regulations are reasonable) is likely to affect their environmental management practices.…”

Section: Enterprise Perceptions Toward the Regulatory Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enterprise-Level Motivations, Regulatory Pressures, and Corporate Environmental Management in Guangzhou, China

Tang

Fryxell

et al. 2015

Environmental Management

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This study examines the effects of internal motivations and external pressures on the integration of environmental management (EM) practices within manufacturing operations in China. The moderating role of perceptions toward the regulatory process is also considered along with comparisons between wholly Chinese-owned and foreign-owned enterprises. From a sample of 131 manufacturing companies in the Guangzhou area, it was found that the salience of fees and fines has a strong positive influence on perceptions toward the regulator (the local Environmental Protection Bureau, EPB). This also has a positive effect on perceptions toward regulations themselves for foreign-owned enterprises. Business-case motivations for EM positively shape enterprise perceptions toward regulations, whereas risk-reduction motivations have a negative effect on perceptions toward regulations in foreign-owned enterprises. Enterprise perceptions toward the regulatory process have direct effects on the integration of EM practices in wholly Chinese-owned enterprises, but in opposite directions. While positive perceptions toward regulations have positive influence, positive perceptions toward regulators (i.e., the EPB) negatively affect it. Overall, these results indicated that promoting the adoption of EM practices depends on convincing business leaders that EM practices contribute to profit making. The regulatory process can potentially promote these practices, but measures need to be taken to ensure that the regulator is not co-opted by the regulated, especially in wholly Chinese-owned enterprises.

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Regulatory Compliance when the Rule of Law Is Weak: Evidence from China’s Environmental Reform

Cited by 36 publications

References 50 publications

Political Commitment, Policy Ambiguity, and Corporate Environmental Practices

Political Commitment, Policy Ambiguity, and Corporate Environmental Practices

Catch and Release: The Effectiveness of an Educational Class for Anglers Caught with Fishing Citations

Enterprise-Level Motivations, Regulatory Pressures, and Corporate Environmental Management in Guangzhou, China

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