Research Article
Open Access
Introduction: Administrative Burden as a Mechanism of Inequality in Policy Implementation
Pamela Herd, Hilary Hoynes, Jamila Michener, Donald Moynihan
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences September 2023, 9 (5) 1-30; DOI: https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2023.9.5.01
Pamela Herd
aDistinguished Professor of Public Policy at Georgetown University, United States
Hilary Hoynes
bProfessor of economics and public policy and Haas Distinguished Chair of Economic Disparities at the University of California–Berkeley, United States
Jamila Michener
cAssociate professor of government and public policy at Cornell University, United States
Donald Moynihan
dMcCourt Chair of Public Policy at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, United States.1

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In this issue
Introduction: Administrative Burden as a Mechanism of Inequality in Policy Implementation
Pamela Herd, Hilary Hoynes, Jamila Michener, Donald Moynihan
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Sep 2023, 9 (5) 1-30; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2023.9.5.01
Jump to section
- Article
- Abstract
- ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN AS A KEY PART OF POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
- LEARNING COSTS
- COMPLIANCE COSTS
- PSYCHOLOGICAL COSTS
- THE EFFECTS OF ADMINISTRATIVE BURDENS
- BURDENS HAVE LARGE EFFECTS ON ACCESS TO RIGHTS AND PUBLIC SERVICES
- BURDENS FACILITATE SOCIAL CONTROL
- BURDENS REINFORCE INEQUALITY
- PEOPLE WITH FEWER RESOURCES ARE LESS EQUIPPED TO MANAGE BURDENS
- THE EFFECTS OF BURDENS ACCUMULATE OVER TIME
- SOURCES OF ADMINISTRATIVE BURDENS
- BURDENS ARE POLICYMAKING BY OTHER MEANS
- POLICY DESIGN MATTERS, BUT UNIVERSALISM IS NOT A SUFFICIENT FIX
- BUREAUCRACIES ARE NOT NATURALLY INCLINED TO DETECT AND MINIMIZE BURDEN
- THE FEDERATED AND FRAGMENTED NATURE OF U.S. POLICY IMPLEMENTATION ENHANCES BURDENS
- THIRD PARTIES CAN BUFFER OR AMPLIFY BURDENS
- TOWARD SIMPLE, ACCESSIBLE, AND RESPECTFUL GOVERNMENT
- ADMINISTRATIVE DATA AND TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP, WITH CAVEATS
- NUDGES ARE NOT ENOUGH TO REDUCE BURDENS; SOMETIMES HELP IS NEEDED
- PRACTICAL BURDEN-REDUCTION POLICY FRAMEWORKS ARE EMERGING
- CONCLUSION: SOCIAL SCIENCE CAN CONTINUE TO PLAY AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN REDUCING BURDENS
- FOOTNOTES
- REFERENCES
- Figures & Data
- Info & Metrics
- References
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