Doctoral Dissertation Research: Regional Variation in Implementation of International Standards

Brown University, Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

While nation-state research proliferates, sub-national analyses of the adoption of global rules are still rare. There is still a limited understanding of the ways in which the layering of multiple norms could produce divergent outcomes. This research will contribute a much-needed analysis of the differences that may exist across policy-issues within one sector. This research investigates the implementation of two international rules that regulate when imports can enter markets, attending to the significance of differences in the rules and in the variation in national priorities. Preliminary research reveals significant cross-national variation within one region in the response to international rules that harmonize regulation. Moreover, there is also within-country variation as countries comply with one international rule but resist the other. This dissertation asks why countries respond differently to international standards but also why states comply with some international rules while resisting others. The project addresses these questions by comparing the implementation process of rules since the late 1990s and providing a detailed historical account of regulation in since the 1960s. This research will also explain how middle-income countries balance national well-being priorities and industrial development outcomes in the context of international harmonization projects. This could prove immensely useful when exploring alternative possibilities for diversifying provision of market goods.