This paper examines changes in administrative burden in U.S. social safety net programs, or the negative encounters with the state that people experience when trying to access and use the benefits for which they are eligible. While overall burdens have declined in most targeted programs, there is evidence of increasing inequality regarding who faces these burdens.
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
The Better Government Lab at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University has developed a new scale for measuring the experience of burden when accessing public benefits. They offer both a three-item scale and a single-item scale, which can be utilized for any public benefit program. The shorter scales provide a less burdensome way to measure by requiring less information from users.
Professor Don Moynihan discusses how administrative burden is an effective tool to make it difficult for people to access certain types of benefits, noting that this is particularly harmful to communities of color.
Administrative burden placed on individual citizens are often a function of deliberate political choice, as to enact significant policy changes without broad political deliberation. This is evident in the evolution of Medicaid policies in Wisconsin.
Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory
This book is an in-depth exploration of federal programs and controversial legislation demonstrating that administrative burden has long existed in policy design, preventing citizens from accessing fundamental rights. Further discussion of how policymakers can minimize administrative burden to reduce inequality, boost civic engagement, and build an efficient state.
