A Comparative Study on the Enforcement Styles of Inspectors Towards Different Types of Eating and Drinking Facilities
Yi-Fan Wang, Hong-Wung Wang*
Abstract
Inspectors face the bureaucratic dilemma and great pressure when implementing the law. In order to achieve the goals, they may adopt different enforcement styles, which affect the effectiveness of regulatory policy. This paper aims to investigate the enforcement styles of sanitation inspectors when inspecting different types of eating and drinking facilities in three counties and cities in Taiwan. It also tries to find out the factors affecting their enforcement styles.
The results of principal component analysis show that the styles of the inspectors can be classified by two dimensions, based on the degree of strict enforcement and the degree of communication and education. Using cluster analysis and the above two dimensions, the inspectors can be divided into three styles, i.e. the communication and coordination style, the routine style, and the strict enforcement style. Inspectors tend to adopt routine style when dealing with night market vendors.
Finally, the results show that some characteristics of the inspectors, such as gender, educational background, tenure of duty, and areas where they implement the law, are likely to affect their enforcement styles. It is recommended that the local health authorities consider the enforcement styles of their inspectors when assigning them to inspect different eating and drinking facilities. It may improve the efficiency and enhance the effectiveness of food safety management.
Keywords: policy implementation, street-level bureaucracy, enforcement style
* Yi-Fan Wang, Master, Graduate Institute of Public Affairs, National Taiwan University. email: olinawang@gmail.com. Hong-Wung Wang, Associate Professor, Graduate Institute of Public Affairs, National Taiwan University. email: hongwung@ntu.edu.tw.