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What makes us tolerant of administrative burden? Race, representation, and identity

Author

Listed:
  • Donavon Johnson

    (Florida International University)

  • Alexander Kroll

    (Florida International University)

Abstract

This article connects the literatures of administrative burden with those of representative bureaucracy and group identity. We derive two hypotheses from extant scholarship that, adapted to the case of administrative burden, propose the following: Citizens will be more tolerant of burden if their race identity overlaps with that of the bureaucrat administering the burden, and if potential benefits are targeted at people who are similar to them. Using a survey experiment based on a stratified sample of 465 U.S. residents, we find little support for the hypotheses. In fact, while Black participants barely responded to the treatments at all, we see that white participants were most tolerant of burden when served by a white bureaucrat in a program that benefits Black clients. The article calls for more research on the subject to build nuanced theory, including contextualizing propositions across identity groups and drawing on additional theoretical ideas.

Suggested Citation

  • Donavon Johnson & Alexander Kroll, 2021. "What makes us tolerant of administrative burden? Race, representation, and identity," Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, Center for Experimental and Behavioral Public Administration, vol. 4(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:bpd:articl:v:4:y:2021:i:1:jbpa.41.201
    DOI: 10.30636/jbpa.41.201
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wesley Kaufmann & Mary K. Feeney, 2012. "Objective Formalization, Perceived Formalization and Perceived Red Tape," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(8), pages 1195-1214, January.
    2. Baker, Andy, 2015. "Race, Paternalism, and Foreign Aid: Evidence from U.S. Public Opinion," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 109(1), pages 93-109, February.
    3. Katherine Levine Einstein & David M. Glick, 2017. "Does Race Affect Access to Government Services? An Experiment Exploring Street‐Level Bureaucrats and Access to Public Housing," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 61(1), pages 100-116, January.
    4. Palan, Stefan & Schitter, Christian, 2018. "Prolific.ac—A subject pool for online experiments," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 22-27.
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    Cited by:

    1. Halling, Aske & Bækgaard, Martin, 2022. "Administrative Burden in Citizen-State Interactions: A Systematic Literature Review," OSF Preprints 26xdj, Center for Open Science.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Administrative burden; Representative bureaucracy; Identity politics; Experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • Z00 - Other Special Topics - - General - - - General
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General

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