Poster #108 - Addressing Administrative Burdens through Digital Government Innovations: Evidence from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

• In Event: Friday Poster Reception

Abstract

Governments increasingly rely on digital government innovations to improve the efficiency and accessibility of public services. Digital government innovations help restructure the institutional processes in ways that can reduce administrative burdens and improve citizens’ ability to fully benefit from social policies. Focusing on California, this study analyzes whether replacing fragmented, county-administered portals with a unified statewide digital portal that streamlines social assistance programs improves program outcomes across multiple stages of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Using SNAP county-level monthly administrative data from fiscal years 2015 to 2025, the analysis employs a Two-Way Fixed-Effect (TWFE) model that leverages the staggered timing of system integration across all 58 counties. Key study outcomes include SNAP application rates, participation rates, and approval and denial rates, especially denials due to procedural reasons.

The results show that the adoption of the unified digital portal increases SNAP applications and reduces procedural denial rates, consistent with reduced learning costs at the application stage. On average, counties experience an increase of 0.349 applications per 1,000 residents and a decline of 0.028 percentage points for the procedural denial rate after transitioning to the unified digital portal. However, these gains do not translate into a corresponding increase in overall program participation, suggesting that reducing administrative burdens at the application stage does not automatically expand program reach. Importantly, the analysis highlights heterogeneous effects in counties according to their digital capacity. Program participation increases in areas with lower digital capacity but declines in higher-capacity counties, pointing to distributional effects of digital government innovations.

These findings highlight how digital policy implementation can improve the effectiveness of public policies for all populations and shape citizens’ experiences with the welfare state. By demonstrating how a unified statewide digital portal can influence access and participation, this research contributes to debates on administrative burden and digital governance. These findings highlight the importance of administrative capacity and the stage-specific nature of digital governance innovations in shaping access to public benefits.

Author

• Zehra Sahin-Ilkorkor, Virginia Commonwealth University
  Presenting Author