The implementation of industrial pollution controls in China's Xiamen special economic zone, 1979-1992

This research uses a case study method to seek answers to the following questions: How can China's mixed record in pollution control best be explained? Has their "exploratory" approach to policy making in this issue area been effective? How important is the municipal level of government in China's policy process? The study focuses on Xiamen in Fujian Province and primarily on efforts to regulate industrial water pollution.; Given the organizational structure of environmental and governmental authority, mayors are in a key position to affect pollution control. However, the conditions resulting from fiscal decentralization and the rapid economic growth strategy do not provide incentives for concerned action. While previous studies attribute implementation failure largely to these factors associated with the reform era, this study argues that the Maoist legacy of environmental neglect and poor planning also hampers current implementation efforts because of the substantial resources which must be diverted away from enforcement and toward clean-up efforts.; Exploratory policies sanctioned by the central government are often not true experiments; they can be attempts by top leaders or central departments to build support for particular policy directions. Because "exploration" is often dictated by the centre and is not funded sufficiently by any level of government, the ostensible benefits of this approach rarely emerge. This research also finds that often cited conditions of effective implementation are of unequal value in assessing implementation failure in China. Factors which constrain key local actors, such as a lack of leadership support or the existence of other policy objectives which are at odds with the goals in question, are far more important in this case than the exact content of legislation.