Exploring the influence of administrative capacities on administrative burdens

Abstract This research explores administrative capacities to explain the variation in the public’s experience of administrative burdens. Through a qualitative exploratory case study based on semi-structured interviews in Mexico, the paper argues that administrative capacities can structure or shape administrative burdens. The effect can be either positive, where burdens are alleviated or transferred to the state, or negative, where burdens are amplified or newly created. This study identified six administrative capacities that influence administrative burdens: the design of interaction rules, government communication strategies, government resources, organizational structures that provide personalized assistance to citizens, coordination schemes among government offices, and professionalization of street-level bureaucrats. This paper contributes to the growing literature on the governance of administrative burdens and strategies for burden reduction.