Rolling out the red carpet but finding no guests: administrative burden and settlement intentions in talent housing policy

Amidst intensifying inter-city competition for human capital, talent housing policies serve as essential tools for local governments to attract talent. However, procedural burdens during the implementation phase of talent housing policies often undermine their appeal. Drawing on administrative burden theory, this paper employs a mixed-methods design that combines a 2 × 2 between-subjects survey experiment with semi-structured interviews to examine how administrative burdens within talent housing policies affect talent settlement intentions and to further explore the underlying mechanisms. The results indicate that high learning and compliance costs both significantly reduce settlement intentions, with compliance costs exerting a stronger negative effect. A significant interaction exists between the two dimensions, as high compliance costs amplify the negative impact of high learning costs, creating a non-linear cumulative burden. Procedural satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between administrative burdens and settlement intentions. Subsequent qualitative interviews provide process-oriented evidence for these findings and reveal the sources and potential consequences of psychological costs. This paper offers practical implications for optimizing policy implementation and demonstrates the strategic value of reducing administrative burdens to gain a competitive edge in talent acquisition across East Asia and the Global South.