Frictions on Both sides of the Counter? A Study of Red Tape Among Street-Level Bureaucrats and Administrative Burden Among Their Clients

Abstract

Administrative burden research shows that onerous and dysfunctional policy design can have detrimental outcomes among policy recipients. But less is known about the intermediary role played by the street-level bureaucrats who enforce these policies in practice. Using two separate surveys of 775 unemployment benefit recipients and 107 counselors in the Danish unemployment benefit system, I find that recipients report higher levels of administrative burden when served by counselors who themselves experience red tape from the rules and procedures they have to implement. The findings have important policy implications by showing that experiences of frictions among those assigned to convert onerous policies into practice can exacerbate administrative burden among their clients.