RSF: Administrative Burdens and Inequality in Policy Implementation

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Administrative burdens are the learning, compliance, and psychological costs—in other words, the bureaucracy—people encounter when interacting with public services. While some burdens are unintentional, others are deliberately constructed as barriers to limit claims to programs and services. Such burdens fall most heavily on marginalized groups, often preventing them from resources they need. In this double issue of RSF, sociologist Pamela Herd, economist Hilary Hoynes, political scientist Jamila Michener, public administration scholar Donald Moynihan, and an interdisciplinary group of contributors explore how administrative burdens shape inequality.

Issue 4 examines how administrative burdens impact Medicaid and health inequality, student loan repayment programs, and immigration to the U.S. Emily Rauscher and Ailish Burns find that reforms to reduce administrative burdens in the late 1980s increased Medicaid enrollment and improved infant health nearly as much as Medicaid expansion. Adam Goldstein and colleagues show that administrative burdens in student loan repayment programs cause borrowers from lower socioeconomic groups to be disproportionately excluded. Lilly Yu finds that changes to immigration policy during the Trump administration worsened inequality among undocumented immigrants’ access by hindering their right to legal representation.

Issue 5 looks at the role of administrative burdens in experiences with child and family support programs, the child welfare system, disaster and housing relief programs, and housing support programs. Carolyn Barnes and colleagues find that mothers’ perceptions of the costs and benefits of participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) vary over time and influence whether they choose to enroll or continue participating in the program. Ethan J. Raker and Tyler Woods find applications from poor communities of color for FEMA housing aid after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were disproportionately denied or delayed due to burdensome program requirements. Stephanie Casey Pierce and Stephanie Moulton reveal that efforts to reduce administrative burdens in foreclosure programs increased the rate of benefit receipt, while decreasing the foreclosure rate. Frank Edwards and colleagues show child welfare system-involved parents must navigate considerable administrative burdens in order to retain custody of their children.

This volume of RSF shows that by ensuring the public’s interaction with government is no more onerous than it need be, policymakers and administrators can reduce inequality, boost civic engagement, and build an efficient state that works for all citizens.