Bureaucratic Red Tape and Street-Level Bureaucrats: The Role of Context and Transmission

Bureaucratic red tape is omnipresent in the public sector. We can distinguish between external and internal bureaucratic red tape, the first being about externally imposed rules, legislation and procedures whereas the latter being about internal processes and systems. Recent studies show that bureaucratic red tape has negative consequences for the performance of public organizations and the wellbeing of street-level bureaucrats. However, these studies show two limitations: These typically occur within a very specific context - in a certain country or region. Moreover, these studies tend to focus on bureaucratic red tape experienced by street-level bureaucrats themselves, as opposed to bureaucratic red tape which they impose upon citizens. This project addresses these gaps and constitutes two parts. Part 1 focuses on the role of context and uses an international database (TALIS 2018) provided by the OECD to identify how country-level variables influence the relationship between bureaucratic red tape and job satisfaction of street-level bureaucrats. This is followed by a qualitative study among policy experts of the OECD and UNICEF aimed at deepening the quantitative results. During part 2 a survey is developed to measure the transmission of bureaucratic red tape, in other words not the bureaucratic red tape street-level bureaucrats experience themselves but rather the bureaucratic red tape they impose upon citizens. Part 2 concludes with a diary study among street-level bureaucrats to assess the impact of transmitted bureaucratic red tape on their wellbeing.