Abstract:

Administrative burdens can worsen user experiences and reduce programme uptake. They are also frequently argued to worsen inequality. Yet there is limited empirical evidence on who is most susceptible to these burdens. This paper investigates how varying levels of administrative burden affect individuals’ performance in an incentivised real-effort task and whether these effects differ across personal characteristics. We report data from a pre-registered online experiment with 1,002 participants from a nationally representative UK sample. Participants completed the task under low, medium, and high administrative burden conditions. As expected, higher administrative burden reduced performance. Surprisingly, monetary incentives did not substantially increase performance. Administrative literacy, computer literacy, mental health, and not feeling tired were associated with better performance. Crucially, administrative literacy, computer literacy, and tiredness significantly moderated the effect of administrative burden. These findings demonstrate that administrative burdens have heterogeneous effects and can systematically disadvantage vulnerable groups, thereby reinforcing inequality.