The Effects of Administrative Burden on Program Equity and Performance: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in a Foreclosure Prevention Program

In this article, we examine the effects of reforms to reduce administrative burden in a foreclosure prevention program by streamlining the application process and reducing applicant wait times. We find that the reforms are associated with a significant 23 percent increase in the rate of benefit rece...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:RSF : Russell Sage Foundation journal of the social sciences 2023-09, Vol.9 (5), p.146-178
Main Authors: PIERCE, STEPHANIE CASEY, MOULTON, STEPHANIE
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
administrative burden
foreclosure
PART VI: Housing Supports
take-up
unemployment
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Summary:In this article, we examine the effects of reforms to reduce administrative burden in a foreclosure prevention program by streamlining the application process and reducing applicant wait times. We find that the reforms are associated with a significant 23 percent increase in the rate of benefit receipt and a 7.5 percent decrease in the foreclosure rate. These effects are even larger for applicants with more difficult-to-document hardship situations. However, we also find evidence of congestion, where the elimination of documentation requirements increased processing times for applicants, undoing some of the positive benefits. These findings suggest that shifting the documentation burden to the state without sufficiently expanding state capacity may substitute one form of administrative burden for another.
ISSN:2377-8253
2377-8261
DOI:10.7758/RSF.2023.9.5.07