Compliance burden versus program integrity protection: A survey experiment on citizen attitudes toward administrative documentation requirements in public service policy

Abstract

Public services often require formal documentation from citizens or public employees. Although these administrative requirements are commonly viewed as burdensome, they play a critical role in safeguarding program integrity. Drawing from a pre-registered survey experiment conducted among Danish residents (n = 2004), this article examines citizen attitudes toward policy reforms that either intensify or alleviate the burden of formal documentation requirements. We analyze how these contrasting types of policy reforms shape citizen support, with a particular emphasis on the trade-off between compliance burden and program integrity protection. Furthermore, the impact of whether these changes in requirements apply to citizens or public employees is explored. Our findings suggest a general preference among citizens for the removal of administrative documentation requirements aimed at protecting program integrity, regardless of whether they apply to citizens or public employees. These attitudes appear influenced by political ideology, personal experience, and the specific policy area context.