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

中国是否在追求一种更多依赖非国家力量的监管发展新模式？这项研究旨在强调非国家监管机构，如食品生产者、非政府组织和生产者协会在中国的食品安全体系中可以发挥的重要作用。该项目将研究非国家组织如何以及在多大程度上补充国家的监管职能；并评估为什么一些非国家监管机构在某些情况下更有效地制定、执行和传播食品安全规范。该项目采用了9个案例研究，对产品类型和地理区域进行了比较，并进行了横断面调查。中国对监管能力的研究主要集中在国家的作用上，强调中央集权或立法设计对监管结果的影响。因此，关于如何提高监管合规性的讨论往往忽略了一个关键参与者：非国家组织。对非正式组织及其在监管中的作用的研究将做出以下智力贡献。首先，这项研究将有助于发展方面的文献，因为它将显示非国家监管在发展中国家如何以及在多大程度上是可能的。第二，该项目将有助于讨论如何利用公私伙伴关系改善治理。这篇论文将就如何在多个环境下改善食品安全得出结论，并将重点放在发展新的、更有效的国家和非正式组织之间的伙伴关系，以减少重大食物中毒的爆发。其次，该项目将讨论国际组织如何与本土非国家监管机构合作，以改善食品安全成果。第三，鉴于美国和中国之间不断增加的食品贸易，研究中国的食品安全对美国公众健康至关重要。

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.