Processing Time, Application Assistance and Welfare Applicants’ Administrative Burden: Evidence from a Survey Experiment in China

• In Event: Policy and Administrative Choices to Improve Child Health and Well-Being

Abstract

Research indicates that welfare program design can significantly influence the level of administrative burden experienced by applicants, shaping their willingness to take up benefits. This study draws on the administrative burden framework and tests the impact of two key welfare program design features: processing time and application assistance information. Specifically, it investigates the extent to which these factors impact the administrative burden (i.e., learning costs, compliance costs, and psychological costs). To test these relationships, a survey experiment was conducted using a random sample of welfare recipients from the most prominent social assistance scheme (i.e., the Minimum Livelihood Guarantee Scheme, also known as Dibao) in a Chinese city (N = 408). A 2x2 factorial design with a baseline group was used, with participants randomly assigned to one of five groups. A hypothetical cash assistance program was introduced to them in vignettes. The treatment groups varied in the application processing time (average vs. shortened) and application assistance information (general vs. detailed). We find that providing detailed assistance information (name and contact) of frontline workers significantly reduces psychological burden (anxiety and pressure for application) among the most vulnerable groups in terms of income (monthly household disposable income below 1000 CNY). The results can inform community outreach strategy to enhance welfare service delivery. Providing clear and detailed assistance information can improve welfare application experiences at relatively low costs, especially when the frontline workers are already in place.

Authors

• Liping Zhao, University of Hong Kong
  Presenting Author

• Peng Chenhong, The University of Hong Kong
  Non-Presenting Co-Author