Should enrolling in public programs be easy or hard? Harvard Kennedy School Associate Professor Mark Shepard asks that question in a co-written with Harvard post-doctoral fellow Myles Wagner. While the authors note that some studies indicate making enrollment hard has led to low participation and high frustration with government services, many economists have argued that the hassles of bureaucracy and paperwork—what the authors call “ordeals”—may be useful ways to target assistance to those who need it most.
“We ask whether this is the right way to think about targeting in programs,” the authors write. Their research finds that even when a program is free, many people do not enroll when doing so is a hassle. This is found to be true in many public programs, especially safety nets designed to help struggling families.
Shepard’s earlier research examined how auto-enrollment in Medicaid can cover more Americans and help reduce costs. While that research suggests reaching universal health coverage in the United States may require automatic enrollment in some form, the findings could extend beyond insurance. “The findings have broader implications for how policymakers think about enrollment ordeals in social programs,” Shepard writes.
“The findings have broader implications for how policymakers think about enrollment ordeals in social programs.”