Private Standards for the Public Interest? Evidence from Environmental Standardization in China

This article discusses the extent to which private standardization contributes to environmental governance in China. It starts from the law and economics literature, which sees not only particular advantages in private standardization, more particularly lower administrative costs, technological innovation and flexibility, but also potential disadvantages, such as regulatory capture and under-enforcement. The article then discusses the use of environmental standards in China, with a particular focus on the role of private standards in environmental governance. The article points to the interdependence between private and public standards, as the government encourages private standardization, and public regulation equally incorporates private standards. Finally, the article analyses the benefits of private standardization as they appear in the specific case of China, but also the potential disadvantages and points towards possibilities of using private standards in a differentiated manner, enjoying the benefits and trying to remedy the potential disadvantages.