Doctoral Dissertation Research: The New Regulatory Regime: A Study of Non-State Regulation in China's Food Safety System

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Is China pursuing a new model of regulatory development that relies more heavily on non-state forces? This study seeks to highlight the important role that non-state regulators such as food producers,NGOs and producer associations can play in China's food safety system. This project will examine how and to what extent non-state organizations complement the regulatory functions of the state; and, assess why some non-state regulators create, enforce, and transmit food safety norms more effectively in certain contexts. This project draws on nine case studies compared across product type and geographical region, and a cross-sectional survey. The study of regulatory capacity in China has largely centered on the role of the state, emphasizing the effects of centralization or legislative design on regulatory outcomes. As a result, the discussion of how to improve regulatory compliance has tended to overlook a key actor; non-state organizations. The study of informal organizations and their role in regulation will make the following intellectual contributions. First, this study will contribute to the literature on development, as it will show how and to what extent non-state regulation is possible in developing countries. Second, this project will contribute to discussions concerning how to leverage public-private partnerships to improve governance. This dissertation will allow conclusions concerning how to improve food safety in multiple settings, and will focus on the development of new, and more effective, partnerships between the state and informal organizations to reduce the outbreak of major food poisonings. Second, this project will discuss how international organizations can cooperate with indigenous non-state regulators to improve food safety outcomes. Third, given the increasing trade in food between the United States and China, a study on food safety in China is essential to American public health.