Policymaking by Other Means

While politicians wage legislative battles about welfare benefits, bureaucratic procedures represent a less visible means to shape access to those benefits. By constructing complex and time-consuming application procedures, the state can effectively create administrative barriers that limit access to benefits. What explains the variation in the level of administrative burden that individuals face? We address this question by examining Medicaid procedures across the 50 U.S. states, identifying different types of administrative barriers. We find that such barriers tend to be lower in states with unified Democratic control of political institutions.