Poster #6 - Administrative Burdens and Local Labor Market Interests: Evidence from New York State

• In Event: Friday Poster Reception

Abstract

Administrative burdens refer to the costs incurred by citizens in their interactions with the state, and are commonly studied in the context of welfare programs. Research thus far characterizes burdens mostly as either unintended inefficiencies in otherwise functional programs or hurdles deliberately imposed by policymakers to limit the reach of programs they oppose. However, I argue more attention should be paid to the possibility that burdens are used in social programs to control marginal populations in a way that serves the material interests of low-wage employers. This article asks: does the implementation of burdensome rules vary depending on local labor market characteristics? I construct a twelve-year panel data set using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the American Community Survey, and administrative data from New York state to test whether counties with a higher dependence on low wage labor also see higher rates of TANF case closures due to administrative or compliance reasons as opposed to eligibility issues or voluntary exits. I use the share of Accommodations and Food industry establishments in each county of New York as a construct representing the level of local dependence on low-wage labor because this is one of the consistently lowest paying industries and includes the types of places welfare recipients are most likely to be employed. Results from a two way fixed effects regression show a 4.6 percentage point increase in the share of cases that are closed due to “other” compliance issues for every 1 percent increase in the number of Food and Accommodation industry establishments. Findings suggest a county’s concentration of low-wage service sector establishments is positively related to its rate of procedural or burden-related case closures.

Author

• Virginia Carr Schneider, Georgia State University
  Presenting Author