Taking the bite out of administrative burdens: How beneficiaries of a Mexican social program ease administrative burdens in street‐level interactions

Abstract Despite taking the citizen experience of policy implementation as starting point for analysis, the literature on administrative burdens has mostly portrayed citizens as passive victims of burdens. Based on a literature review, three hypotheses are formulated regarding citizens' capacity to ease the impact of administrative burdens through behavioral adjustment, use of social and human capital, and strategic behavior. Evidence for these strategies is found in a case study of beneficiaries' behavior in a Mexican social program, where even the most vulnerable citizens have resources to reduce the impact of administrative burdens, even if the actual causes of those burdens remain out of reach. The findings contribute to understanding (a) variance in people's experience of administrative burdens, (b) the impact of prolonged street‐level interactions on people's ability to ease administrative burdens, (c) the importance of studying informal street‐level interactions, and (d) the relevance of studying state‐citizen interactions in developmental contexts.