Organized by: Institute for Public Policy, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Division of Environment, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Professional Association for China’s Environment (PACE)

In the past two decades, China has been at the forefront in experimenting with a variety of policy instruments in response to dire consequences and challenges of environmental problems. Total quantity control, for example, has been used extensively for pollution control, and market-based instruments such as tradable permits have been also experimented in different localities. In a number of areas, the central government has conducted policy pilots across different localities to test their effectiveness against different operating environment. Given the size and diversity of the country, the extensive application and experimentation of policy instruments provide unprecedented opportunities to study the dynamics and effectiveness of different policy instruments.

Despite voluminous studies on the topic, interdisciplinary and evidence-based research on policy instruments for pollution control in China, has been scanty. Much of the existing literature has been based on the approaches and methods that are confined in a particular discipline, such as economics, political science, and public administration, while interdisciplinary approach is imperative to have a comprehensive understanding of the potential and limitation of different instruments. More importantly, rigorous analyses based on empirical evidence have been rare due to challenges in data collection and impact assessment. Applications of scientific research methodologies can help to improve the rigor of research in this area, especially with regard to the long term and system-wide impacts of the applications of different policy instruments. Furthermore, science and technology should have played pivotal roles in the choices of pollution control policy instruments in China, but such effects have been poorly understood in the existing literature.

This two-day workshop on “Policy Instruments for Pollution Control in China: Design, Implementation and Impact” aims at bringing together cutting-edge research that can help fill in the gap in the literature and contribute to policy-making for pollution control in China and beyond. Papers are especially welcome that can systematically and empirically address key issues in the design, implementation and impacts of policy instruments for pollution control in China based on practices over the last two decades, including but not limited to the following topics:

● Total quantity control
● Urban environmental performance evaluation
● Incentive-based instruments
●Command-and-control instruments
● Information-based instruments and Internet-based approaches
● Social and society-based approaches
● Local policy innovation
● Dynamics of policy pilots and diffusion
● Monitoring, enforcement and compliance
● Choices of policy instruments and policy capacity
● The role of science and technology in instrument choices
● Policy instrument and technological innovation

Papers selected and presented in the workshop will be published in a special issue in China Policy Journal, a new peer refereed and open access journal by Policy Studies Organization (PSO), and (or) an edited volume. The workshop organizer, the Institute for Public Policy at HKUST, will pay for economy airfare and accommodation for paper presenters.

The deadline for abstract submission is November 15, 2016. Abstracts should be submitted to Ms. Eliza Tang at eliza@ust.hk. The abstracts should be about 300 words and provide a concise summary of the paper's main arguments, including purpose, research questions, methods, data source (if applicable), and conclusions. Authors will be emailed the notification of acceptance by November 20, 2016, and full papers will be due on February 25, 2017 for circulation to all participants before the workshop.

Organizing Committee:
Dr. Hua WANG, Professional Association for China’s Environment (PACE)
Dr. Yuan XU, Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Dr. Xun WU, Division of Social Science and Division of Environment, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology