Experiences of administrative burden in context: Exploring differences across countries, policy domains, and socio-demography

Administrative burden research finds that citizens frequently experience burdens when interacting with government. However, evidence is based predominantly on studies of Western countries and social policies. We collect survey data (N≈10,000) in the USA, UK, Mexico, South Korea, and Denmark, using nationally representative samples sourced via online survey panels, to explore similarities and differences in experiences of administrative burden across countries and policy domains. Participants in the USA and Mexico report spending considerably more time interacting with government than participants in our three other case countries. Surprisingly, we find that our respondents associate administrative tasks with more positive than negative affect. This is particularly the case for health and care-related tasks. Overall, the findings suggest that burden experiences vary considerably across contexts, but that policy domains and socio-demography are of similar importance to burden experiences across countries. This calls for further theorizing of how context matters to experiences of administrative burden.