More Than Words: A Behavioral Experiment on the Contingent Effects of Policy Narratives on Administrative Burden

• In Event: News Media, Narratives, and the Policy Process

Abstract

Why do citizens' perceptions of administrative burden persist despite procedural simplification? Drawing from behavioral science, this study argues the answer lies in a frequently overlooked managerial tool: the policy narrative. We posit that narrative effectiveness is not absolute but highly contingent. Using a 2×2 experiment, we test different narrative strategies (role × moral). Findings reveal that framing citizens as "co-builders" under a "collective responsibility" moral is most effective at reducing compliance and psychological costs. Critically, we uncover a "double-edged sword" effect of procedural justice: its burden-reducing efficacy is profoundly dependent on the narrative role. This study’s contributions are twofold: it establishes "meaning mobilization" as a new governance pathway for public managers and offers a crucial amendment to procedural justice theory by demonstrating its profound narrative contingency. These findings provide key implications for designing contingent narrative strategies to effectively reduce administrative burden.

Authors

• Xiaoou Man, Northeastern University
  Presenting Author

• Yang Yang, Northeastern University
  Non-Presenting Co-Author