Shui-Yan Tang

Civic Environmental NGOs, Civil Society, and Democratisation in China

Abstract This paper examines the potential role of civic environmental NGOs in Chinas democratisation. Based on interviews with 31 NGO officials, the paper examines the origins, structures, and functions of civic environmental NGOs in China. It also examines how various political and resource constraints have shaped their development. While having made progress in organising educational campaigns and specific conservation projects, civic environmental NGOs have been less successful in influencing government decisions and official behaviours. Most recently, some NGOs have made limited progress on these fronts by maintaining a largely non-oppositional stance towards government and by utilising various formal and information channels for influencing government decisions. NGO leaders will have to negotiate with different party-state entities in defining their precise roles in the political process.

The problem of transaction costs in group-based microlending: An institutional perspective

Abstract To be financially viable, group-based microlending needs to economize on transaction costs for both lenders and borrowers. Group lending programs vary in their transaction cost characteristics depending on their specific credit delivery arrangements and social contexts. This article illustrates these arguments by examining the challenges faced by various group lending programs Worldwide. It also examines how social capital, or the lack of it, affects the transaction costs and operations of three typical group lending arrangements — group loan with joint liability, individual loan with joint liability and individual loan with individual liability.

Institutional reform, economic changes, and local environmental management in China: the case of Guangdong province

Abstract The governing institutions in China have been undergoing many subtle transformations, especially in the past decade and a half, partly as a response to various challenges posed by the rapidly changing socio-economic landscapes. Many of these institutional transformations, together with related economic changes, have had an impact on environmental management work. Drawing on interviews with local Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) officials in five cities in Guangdong Province this article examines how their work has been affected by four sets of changes – (1) the introduction of the new system of ‘two separate lines for revenues and expenses’, in which local EPBs are no longer allowed to retain a portion of the pollution fees and fines they collect; (2) the increased spinning off of core functions from EPBs to service and enterprise organisations; (3) the introduction of a new environmental quality administrative leadership responsibility system; and (4) the gradual disappearance of state-owned enterprises. These changes can potentially create a more politically independent, but more accountable, administrative system for carrying out environmental management work. Yet many challenges remain that will limit the capacity of the Chinese environmental management system.

Institutional Constraints on Environmental Management in Urban China: Environmental Impact Assessment in Guangzhou and Shanghai *

Since the mid-1980s, many books and articles have been published that examine China′s environmental problems. Some authors reported the alarming rate of environmental degradation in China, while others argued that post-Mao reforms created the conditions for more effective environmental management than in the past. More recently, in an attempt to move beyond broad generalizations about China′s environmental management capabilities, some authors have examined China′s environmental management system at the local level, focusing on problems ranging from policy implementation to local officials′ environmental consciousness.

Making Microcredit Work in the United States: Social, Financial, and Administrative Dimensions

Microcredit has gained increasing attention over the past decade as a tool for spurring grassroots entrepreneurship in the United States. Although some prominent microcredit programs have reportedly demonstrated positive economic effects on microloan recipients, many others have suffered from various social, financial, and administrative challenges. The authors examine these challenges by drawing on existing studies and their own in-depth analysis of two of the oldest microcredit programs in California. The authors conclude by discussing possible strategies for addressing these problems.

Democratization and environmental policy–making in Korea

Democratization in Korea since 1987 has led to the gradual establishment of a diverse set of institutional arrangements—competitive electoral systems, local autonomy, freedom of the press, and freedom of association—that facilitate the articulation of diffuse environmental interests in policy–making processes. Yet, as illustrated by the cases of the Youngwol Dam project and the Wichon Industrial Complex, the policy–making system is still unsettled by numerous environmental protests and by difficulties in resolving distributional conflicts among different groups and communities. To resolve these difficulties, Korea needs to overcome some adverse legacies from its authoritarian era and to develop multiple channels and mechanisms for citizen participation in policy–making and for conflict resolution among different groups and communities. The experience of Korea illustrates the complex dynamics between democratization and environmental policy–making.

Informal credit markets and economic development in Taiwan

Abstract Taiwan is a case which shows how informal credit markets help to compensate for the limitations of the formal financial system, especially in satisfying the needs of medium and small enterprises. Government regulations and policies affect the way participants in informal credit markets solve selection, enforcement and incentive problems. Recent changes demonstrate the continued resilience and relevance of informal credit markets during a process of financial liberalization.

Enforcement Styles, Organizational Commitment, and Enforcement Effectiveness: An Empirical Study of Local Environmental Protection Officials in Urban China

The authors investigated the relationship between enforcement styles and perceptions of enforcement effectiveness in China by surveying three groups of environmental protection bureau officials from the major cities of Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Dalian. In general, it was found that organizational commitment partially mediates the relationship between the enforcement style of prioritization and perceptions of effectiveness. In this case, mediation and direct effects work together such that prioritization has by far the greatest positive total effect. In contrast, a coercive enforcement style is more completely mediated by organizational commitment, but this relationship is negative (that is, a coercive style appears to reduce organizational commitment, leading to lower perceptions of enforcement effectiveness). Although some differences are noted among the three samples, the overall pattern suggests that other enforcement styles (formalism, education, and external influence) appear to be much less influential in shaping perceptions of enforcement effectiveness.

Assessing Ecological Modernization in China: Stakeholder Demands and Corporate Environmental Management Practices in Guangdong Province

This paper compares the key arguments of ecological modernization theory (EMT) with the reality of recent environmental reform in China. Based on data gathered from a survey and in-depth interviews with executives from Hong Kong-based enterprises operating in Guangdong province, we examine the changing roles of government, market, and civil society actors in the reform process, focusing on various types of pressures these actors have exerted on business enterprises. Compatible with Mols (2006) conjectures, ecological concerns have gradually gained a foothold in existing political, economic, and to a lesser extent, social institutions. Yet, the relevant actors and their patterns of interactions differ from what EMT generalizes from Western European experiences. Specifically, local governments are assuming a more formalized relationship with firms in regulatory enforcement. Among market actors, organizational buyers along the supply chain have exerted more noticeable pressures on manufacturing firms than industrial associations and individual consumers. Civil society, while remaining less of an institutionalized actor in the environmental policy process, appears to pose a perceptible threat to at least some firms.

The Local Environmental Regulatory Regime in China: Changes in Pro-Environment Orientation, Institutional Capacity, and External Political Support in Guangzhou

In the first decade of this millennium China has demonstrated a stronger commitment to environmental protection. Yet, there remains a significant gap between environmental laws and regulations and the quality of the environment. In this paper, we propose an integrated framework for analysis that we apply to investigate the factors that account for this gap in implementation. We analyse the results of surveys conducted in 2000 and 2006 and interviews carried out in 2006 and 2007 in eleven jurisdictions of Guangzhou municipality on three factors: pro-environment orientation, institutional capacity, and external political support for environmental units. The results show that, after several decades of environmental protection regulations, the pro-environment orientation of environmental officials in Guangzhou has been strengthened, whereas the institutional capacity of environmental agencies, although often beefed up in real terms, remains inadequate due to the heightened expectations of state and society actors. It is the external political support received by environmental agencies that drives the success or failure of environmental protection enforcement. More often than not, the strength or weakness of political support is embedded in the policy design and implementation structure and is associated with the policy orientation of political leaders.