TY - JOUR
T1 - Regulatory Reform in the Light of Regulatory Character: Assessing Industrial Safety Change in the Aftermath of the Kader Toy factory Fire in Bangkok, Thailand
AU - Haines, Fiona
PY - 2003
Y1 - 2003
N2 - Effective safety regulation remains an elusive goal for many industrializing nations, with the economic philosophy underpinning economic globalization ambivalent towards regulation, while successive industrial disasters demonstrate a need for improvement. This article explores this nexus between globalization and regulatory reform through research into the aftermath of the Kader Toy Factory Fire in Bangkok, Thailand. It argues that reform following such events cannot be assessed by reference to the nature of the regulatory techniques adopted without consideration of the regulatory context. Rather, research on regulatory change needs to develop an appreciation of the interaction between the regulatory framework and the social context. The article develops a theoretical concept of 'regulatory character' as the means to conceptualize and explore this interaction. Regulatory character is informed by an understanding of the importance of cultural ordering to regulatory change and regulatory compliance as outlined by Hood (1998) and Selznick's (1992) argument that cultural order is moulded by the economic and political dependencies. Thai regulatory character is then described and used to assess safety reform in Thailand following the Kader Toy Factory Fire. Finally, the interaction between Thai regulatory character and globalization is explored through the data on the aftermath of the fire.
AB - Effective safety regulation remains an elusive goal for many industrializing nations, with the economic philosophy underpinning economic globalization ambivalent towards regulation, while successive industrial disasters demonstrate a need for improvement. This article explores this nexus between globalization and regulatory reform through research into the aftermath of the Kader Toy Factory Fire in Bangkok, Thailand. It argues that reform following such events cannot be assessed by reference to the nature of the regulatory techniques adopted without consideration of the regulatory context. Rather, research on regulatory change needs to develop an appreciation of the interaction between the regulatory framework and the social context. The article develops a theoretical concept of 'regulatory character' as the means to conceptualize and explore this interaction. Regulatory character is informed by an understanding of the importance of cultural ordering to regulatory change and regulatory compliance as outlined by Hood (1998) and Selznick's (1992) argument that cultural order is moulded by the economic and political dependencies. Thai regulatory character is then described and used to assess safety reform in Thailand following the Kader Toy Factory Fire. Finally, the interaction between Thai regulatory character and globalization is explored through the data on the aftermath of the fire.
U2 - 10.1177/0964663903012004003
DO - 10.1177/0964663903012004003
M3 - Article
SN - 0964-6639
VL - 12
SP - 461
EP - 487
JO - Social and Legal Studies
JF - Social and Legal Studies
IS - 4
ER -