Bureaucracy and Institutional Evolution: A Case Study on Occupational Safety Protection Regime Transformation in China

New Institutionalism is short of convincing theory in explaining institution evolution. Current research of New Institutionalism focuses on pioneering new research approaches, such as from Rational Choice Institutionalism to Historical Institutionalism, Socialist Institutionalism and the newly emerging Constructivist Institutionalism. Through analysis on the existing literature, this research found that it is the argument between different research approaches that sets a barrier for digging into some key variables. This research focuses on "bureaucracy", the variable ignored by researches of all schools on institution evolution. The position of bureaucracy in political system generates its close relationship with political system. However, it is confused that New Institutionalism completely excludes bureaucracy from the scope of influence factors during the research on institution evolution. Rational Choice Institutionalism assumes that bureaucracy is rational. Rational bureaucracy is deemed as the target of institutional constraint without potential effect on institution evolution. Excluding bureaucracy from the institution selectors, Historical Institutionalism makes little analysis on structure and motivation complexity of the bureaucracy and treats bureaucracy as an accessory to the institution selectors, which has simplified the effect of bureaucracy. Meanwhile, Socialist Institutionalism that is seldom touches analysis on political system pays even less attention to bureaucracy. This research tries to interpret two issues on institution evolution through the bureaucracy as an independent variable: firstly, what is the driving force of institutional evolution, i.e. how institution starts and evolves? Secondly, why certain institution form will the results of institution evolution take on, i.e. where does institution come from and what factors shape the final selection of institution form. On the basis of the above issues, this paper theoretically assumes that the attitude of bureaucracy to institution affects the evolution of institutions. Specifically, birth and evolution of institutions are the results of bureaucracy support or objection, while selection of institution form is influenced by the preference of bureaucracy. Through tracking process of individual case, this paper tests the above hypothesis. The observation of the case comes from occupational safety protection regime in China. We track the entire history of the system and analyze influence of bureaucracy on all stages of institution development. In the case, institution evolution is divided into three stages. At the first stage, from the founding of PRC in 1949 to the end of 1970s, learning from the experience of Soviet Union, the Government established occupational safety protection regime dominated by industrial sector with "integration of production and protection"; in 1980s, labor protection system in the industries started to be shaken, and the labor sector assumed the regulatory power over production safety in all industries, while the industries sector reserved the power of management, where the powers of management for industrial sector coexisted with the regulatory power ; after 2000, government started to establish professional regulatory agency of occupational safety protection. Through several times of department upgrading and power expansion, the professional regulatory agency has gradually become a sector dominating occupational safety supervision in place of labor sector and industrial management sector. Why does Chinese occupational safety supervision system take on the above three development stages? Why has the safety management pattern dominated by industrial sector with "integration of production and protection" been replaced by the supervision pattern of non-industrial sector? Why is the supervision system not able to continue under the charge of labor sector? Why can the professional regulatory agency consolidate and expand its power? With bureaucracy as a variable, this paper analyzes the drive force to the evolution of occupational safety and protection system. The bureaucracy with influence is divided into central sector bureaucracy and local bureaucracy. The two are observed separately in relation to influence on institution evolution. Case study reaches three main conclusions: firstly, central sector bureaucracy has significant drive to early establishment and the advent of institutional evolution; secondly, by promotion and support, sector bureaucracy directly influences the selection of some institution form; thirdly, objection of sector bureaucracy and local bureaucracy may interrupt and change some institution form.