Reduce, reuse... regulate? A comparative policy mix analysis of e-waste governance in five emerging economies

Abstract

Background: Rapid growth in electronic waste has led emerging economies to adopt complex regulatory arrangements. Research often examines individual laws or country-specific implementation, leaving interactions among instruments insufficiently understood. This study compares how national e-waste strategies and instruments operate within five emerging economies and how their policy mixes differ in consistency, coherence, and comprehensiveness. Methods: A qualitative comparative policy analysis used a Most Similar Systems Design (MSSD). Qualitative content analysis covered 23 national laws, regulations, and technical guidelines issued between 2008 and 2024 in China, India, Brazil, Ghana, and Indonesia. Scientific literature and Global E-waste Monitor data provided implementation context without determining legal coding or qualitative ratings. Findings: All five policy mixes showed medium consistency because targets, sanctions, incentives, and overlapping responsibilities remained imperfectly aligned. Coherence was high in China, India, and Brazil but medium in Ghana and Indonesia. Comprehensiveness was high in China and India, medium–high in Brazil, medium in Ghana, and low–medium in Indonesia. Subsidies, tradable certificates, and negotiated reverse logistics created organized constituencies for implementation. Municipal capacity and informal collection networks nonetheless shaped how national instruments operated locally. Conclusion: Regulatory maturity cannot be inferred from the number of adopted instruments. Effective urban e-waste governance requires aligned incentives, coordinated responsibilities across governmental levels, accessible collection, and integration measures that improve safety and livelihoods. Novelty/Originality of this article: The study extends policy-mix analysis by combining comparative regulatory assessment with Wilson’s distributional typology and hybrid governance, linking formal policy design to the institutions through which e-waste moves.