Made in China policy analysis and prescriptions to improve China's consumer product safety regulatory regime

Abstract

If it's "Made in China," would you still buy it?This question has recently taken on particular significance in the wake of a series of scandalous oversights regarding the safety of consumer products manufactured in China. If this trend continues it could damage the sales of Chinese produced goods in the international market place. While, it may appear to be a relatively minor issue in the context of China's overall political economy generally, and its dramatic economic growth of the past few decades more particularly, if it is not addressed the consequences could actually be quite serious. If this issue on its own, or in combination with other problems, drastically undermined China's economic growth, the ruling Chinese Communist Party might find itself facing increased domestic instability. Domestic instability in China could in turn contribute to regional instability in Northeast and Southeast Asia. In this context, this thesis outlines realistic policy options that the Chinese government could implement to both address consumer product safety in the future and mitigate contemporary concerns following the recent bout of consumer product safety lapses. More broadly, this thesis moves beyond simply laying out policy prescriptions and presents a new institutional arrangement that if implemented would prevent future product safety problems. It provides a policy framework that if followed would effectively address international and domestic concerns with respect to the quality and safety of Chinese products. Figure 1 provides a succinct summary of the thesis and its relevance to a neglected, but endemic problem.