Creating institutions to protect the environment: the role of Chinese central environmental inspection

ABSTRACT The working mechanism of Chinese central environmental inspection (CEI) has been evolving. Through integrating insights from the notions of institutional pillars, institutional work and the level of institutionalisation, this study constructs a framework that is suited to unravel the working mechanisms of the new CEI and to assess its potential in transforming local environmental governance regime. Through two sets of empirical evidence, we found that CEI has employed six types of institutional work to change both formal and informal institutions regarding environmental protection at local level, and has led to an increased in local governments’ political attention on environmental planning. The findings from this study make important supplement to current research on CEI, which have been dominated by evaluating CEI’s impact on curbing end-of-pipe pollutants through econometric models. Based on our findings, it is suggested that successive CEIs are required in the near future to further deepening the level of institutionalisation of environmental protection and prevent the situation regressing.