EVALUATING REGULATORY COMPLIANCE, CONSTRUCTION QUALITY, AND LEGAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN CONTEMPORARY BUILDING PROJECT DELIVERY ACROSS EMERGING AND DEVELOPED ECONOMIES

The interplay between accelerating urbanisation and deficiencies in building regulation enforcement continues to generate significant safety, economic, and legal consequences across emerging and developed economies alike. This study undertakes a systematic comparative evaluation of regulatory compliance frameworks, construction quality assurance mechanisms, and legal accountability structures operative in contemporary building project delivery. Drawing on a mixed-methods design integrating structured questionnaires, documentary analysis, and literature synthesis, data were obtained from 342 construction professionals, regulatory officials, and legal practitioners across twelve jurisdictions. Findings reveal that regulatory compliance rates averaged 82.4% in developed economies against 61.7% in emerging economies, while defect incidence reached 28.3% in residential developments. Regression analysis identified inspection frequency (β = 0.617), digital monitoring adoption (β = 0.542), and professional licensing compliance (β = 0.489) as primary quality predictors. The study proposes the Regulatory-Quality-Accountability (RQA) nexus framework and advances evidence-based policy recommendations for bridging the compliance gap between economy types.