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Regional patterns of food safety in China: What can we learn from media data?

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  • Holtkamp, Nicholas
  • Liu, Peng
  • McGuire, William

Abstract

China's food safety system is characterized by widespread under-enforcement of regulations punctuated by high-profile food safety scandals. While there has been a wave of public and scholarly interest, official data on food safety are scarce, and some fundamental questions remain unanswered. We evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of media-based event data as a source for scholars and policy makers interested in understanding more about China's food safety crisis. While some biases are likely present, we find that the data produce a reasonable set of results: food safety problems are most acute in poor provinces, and where government expenditures are low. Reported food safety incidents also increase with the rate of urbanization, which may reflect the increased complexity of urban food systems or an urban bias in Chinese media. Importantly, our results indicate that media data can be a valid source for scholars interested in studying food safety or other controversial topics in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Holtkamp, Nicholas & Liu, Peng & McGuire, William, 2014. "Regional patterns of food safety in China: What can we learn from media data?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 459-468.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:30:y:2014:i:c:p:459-468
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2014.07.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David L. Ortega & H. Holly Wang & Nicole J. Olynk & Laping Wu & Junfei Bai, 2012. "Chinese Consumers' Demand for Food Safety Attributes: A Push for Government and Industry Regulations," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 94(2), pages 489-495.
    2. Pei, Xiaofang & Tandon, Annuradha & Alldrick, Anton & Giorgi, Liana & Huang, Wei & Yang, Ruijia, 2011. "The China melamine milk scandal and its implications for food safety regulation," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 412-420, June.
    3. Wang, Zhigang & Mao, Yanna & Gale, Fred, 2008. "Chinese consumer demand for food safety attributes in milk products," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 27-36, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhuang Zhang & You-hua Chen & Lin-hai Wu, 2021. "Effects of Governmental Intervention on Foodborne Disease Events: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-14, December.
    2. Guo, Mengmeng & Liu, Jinge & Yu, Jianyu, 2021. "Social trust and food scandal exposure: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    3. Jiang, Qijun & Florkowski, Wojciech J., 2017. "What factors limit quality assurance program implementation in Shanghai’s food manufacturing companies?," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258266, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Liu, Peng & Ma, Liang, 2016. "Food scandals, media exposure, and citizens’ safety concerns: A multilevel analysis across Chinese cities," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 102-111.
    5. Jiaping Zhang & Zhiyong Cai & Mingwang Cheng & Huirong Zhang & Heng Zhang & Zhongkun Zhu, 2019. "Association of Internet Use with Attitudes Toward Food Safety in China: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-19, October.
    6. Wojciech J. Florkowski & Qijun Jiang, 2017. "Constraints in Implementing Quality Assurance Programs in Food Manufacturing Firms in Shanghai, China," Proceedings- 11th International Conference on Mangement, Enterprise and Benchmarking (MEB 2017),, Óbuda University, Keleti Faculty of Business and Management.
    7. Jiaqin Sun & Ruguo Fan & Zhou Yang, 2022. "An Evolutionary Game Analysis of Periodical Fluctuation in Food Safety Supervision," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-16, April.
    8. Liang Ma & Peng Liu, 2019. "Missing links between regulatory resources and risk concerns: Evidence from the case of food safety in China," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(1), pages 35-50, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    China; Food safety; Regulation; Media event data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • D18 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Protection

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