Disentangling the Impact of Administrative Burden on Student Aid Preferences

• In Event: Issues in Public Administration

Abstract

Research on administrative burden explores the negative impact of the learning, psychological, and compliance costs associated with applying for assistance from the government on client access and political efficacy. These costs are imposed in a variety of ways, including the use of language that induces stigma, confusion, or stress on the applicant. While there is extensive research evaluating the impact of administrative burdens broadly on a variety of constituent outcomes and experiences, there is still much to learn about how these mechanisms of administrative burden work in isolation, and whether costs have similar or distinct effects. This study uses a survey experiment to explore the preferences and perceptions of constituents for individuals exposed to the various treatments invoking administrative burden costs. Exploiting variation in the burden cues across student financial aid application prompts, this study explores impacts of the different cost types on constituent outcomes including perceptions and intent to participate in the assistance program. Disentangling the sources of administrative burden can help researchers better understand the mechanisms through which costs influence a citizen’s experience with the government. This research attempts to isolate the effects of the different cost types and compare their impacts, addressing a current lack of attention to the potentially disparate impacts of cost types when compared against one another.

Author

• Emily Mee, Indiana University