Clean Air at What Cost?

China's green transition is often perceived as a lesson in authoritarian efficiency. In just a few years, the state managed to improve air quality, contain dissent, and restructure local industry. Much of this was achieved through top-down, 'blunt force' solutions, such as forcibly shuttering or destroying polluting factories. This book argues that China's blunt force regulation is actually a sign of weak state capacity and ineffective bureaucratic control. Integrating case studies with quantitative evidence, it shows how widespread industry shutdowns are used, not to scare polluters into respecting pollution standards, but to scare bureaucrats into respecting central orders. These measures have improved air quality in almost all Chinese cities, but at immense social and economic cost. This book delves into the negotiations, trade-offs, and day-to-day battles of local pollution enforcement to explain why governments employ such costly measures, and what this reveals about a state's powers to govern society.

Author: Denise Sienli Van Der Kamp
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 01/25/2024
Pages: 254
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.76lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.54d
ISBN: 9781009152662

About the Author
Van Der Kamp, Denise Sienli: - Denise van der Kamp is an Associate Professor in the Political Economy of China at Oxford University. Originally from Hong Kong, she received her Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, and has lived and worked in China, Tajikistan, Canada, the US, and the UK.

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