Knowra Administrative burden Administrative burden Administrative burden is the learning, compliance, and psychological costs people face when interacting with public programs. These costs can limit access to benefits and services.
Learning costs : The time and effort required to discover a program, understand its rules, and determine how to apply. People may never claim a benefit if finding or understanding it is too difficult.
Benefit take-up : The extent to which eligible people enroll in and receive a public benefit. Administrative burden helps explain why eligible people do not claim benefits.
Non-take-up : The failure of eligible people to claim or receive a public benefit. Administrative burdens are a major reason eligible people remain outside programs.
Donald Moynihan : A political scientist whose research examines public administration, governance, and administrative burden. His work helped establish the concept and its learning, compliance, and psychological costs.
Compliance costs : The time, money, and effort required to meet a program’s application, documentation, and reporting requirements. Forms, deadlines, and verification requirements turn eligibility into work.
Means testing : Determining eligibility for assistance by assessing a person’s income, assets, or other resources. Repeated financial checks can impose documentation and reporting demands on applicants.
Policy feedback : The ways public policies reshape political participation, perceptions, and later policy choices. Experiences with burdensome programs can shape how people view government and future policies.
Pamela Herd : A sociologist whose research studies how public policies and administrative processes shape inequality. Her research developed explanations of how burdens distribute access unequally.
Psychological costs : Stress, stigma, loss of autonomy, or frustration associated with navigating institutions and seeking assistance. Even manageable paperwork can deter participation when applying feels humiliating or stressful.
Medicaid : A United States public health insurance program for eligible people with low incomes and certain other groups. Enrollment and renewal rules can make health coverage difficult to maintain.
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