This book focuses on the spread of public and private environmental and food safety regulations from Europe and North America to Asia and Africa. It explores the growth of policy diffusion and standard alignment on sustainability observed in non-Western follower countries in a globalizing world. The book examines the role of both developed and developing non-Western countries as followers that adopt food safety, environmental and sustainability policies under different conditions to those of the originating country. Chapters analyse non-state forms of transnational regulation, and how these have diffused to non-Western countries. They showcase how standard alignment efforts lead to multiple localized regulations determined by specific circumstances, highlighting the dilemma in designing policy in an era of globalization. The use of in-depth case studies by renowned experts will make this book an important read for political science and economics scholars interested in trade, standards and international regulation. Policy-makers concerned with issues of sustainability in follower countries will find the book's lessons on how to adapt policies helpful.

Little is known about the volume of international recycling in Asia, the problems caused and the struggle to properly manage the trade. This pathbreaking book addresses this gap in the literature, and provides a comprehensive overview of the international trade flow of recyclable waste in Asia and related issues. The expert contributors discuss the various types of recyclable waste that Asian countries import, and illustrate that there are consequently higher numbers of cheaper informal recyclers with lower pollution control costs than formal recyclers with more expensive but environmentally sound technologies. They explore how governments across China, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan are therefore struggling to minimize the negative impact from informal recycling via trade regulation of recyclable and hazardous waste and comprehensive cooperation mechanisms to promote efficient use of resources. Preventive measures against illegal and/or improper transboundary movement of hazardous waste in Asia are also analyzed. This unique and fascinating book aims to facilitate a common understanding of the issues caused by international recycling in Asia to encourage effective international and regional cooperation in order to establish a sound recycling system. As such, it will prove an invaluable resource to academics, researchers and students with an interest in Asian studies, economics, environmental studies, international economics and industrial economics. Contributors: V. Atienza, S. Chung, M. Kojima, E. Michida, S. Sakata, S. Sasaki, T. Terao, J. Tsuruta, A. Yoshida

This book evaluates the evolution of regulatory policy in advanced countries and discusses how, due to globalization, policy changes in one country have a knock-on effect in others. Separated in two parts, the first half focuses on policy in developed countries and regulatory diffusion from Europe to Asia. The second part looks at the business impact of policy developments in a number of Southeast Asian countries. Key chapters discuss Thailand's response to EU chemical regulations, the diffusion of private food standards, and the effect of chemical safety standards in Malaysia and Vietnam. These contributions are written by leading scholars in the field and the book is likely to be of interest to students, researchers and policy makers concerned with regulation changes in East Asia.