Administrative Errors and the Burden of Correction and Consequence: How Information Technology Exacerbates the Consequences of Bureaucratic Mistakes for Citizens

Administrative errors are an overlooked cause of administrative burdens. Citizens face costs in the correction of an error and in the material and immaterial consequences of an error, such as loss of access to benefits or services. This problem is especially relevant given the characteristics of information technology in the public sector, which is increasingly used to share data among multiple organisations through master data management systems. We conceptualise administrative errors and their burdens through the analysis of an exemplary case of a Dutch woman's Kafkaesque problems because of a registration error by the police regarding her stolen car.