Administrative burden as a policy choice.

Simplifying application processes increases enrollment among the most vulnerable without increasing ineligible take-up.

Pennsylvania's SNAP enrollment simplification — replacing a lengthy in-person interview with a phone interview and pre-populated forms — increased enrollment among eligible households by 24%. LA County's flexible interview scheduling for SNAP produced similar results. The consistent finding across simplification experiments in SNAP, Medicaid, and cash assistance is that reducing procedural burden primarily helps households with the most complex circumstances — those dealing with unstable work, disability, or language barriers — who were least able to navigate complex applications.

Outreach and automatic renewal increase program participation more than advertising or awareness campaigns.

Massachusetts ACA enrollment assistance — providing navigators at high-traffic locations during open enrollment — significantly increased plan selection compared to areas without navigators. Medicaid renewal via text message reduced lapse rates substantially. The New Hope Project in Milwaukee, which guaranteed employment and income support through a simplified enrollment process, found high take-up and positive outcomes. The common finding: active, personalized outreach and automatic continuation matter more than passive awareness.

Work requirements reduce enrollment more than they increase employment — primarily by adding administrative barriers rather than changing behavior.

The Self-Sufficiency Project in Canada randomly offered welfare recipients a generous income supplement conditional on working full-time. Take-up was substantial and employment increased significantly during the program period — but effects faded after the supplement ended, suggesting the incentive changed behavior temporarily without building durable human capital. UK Troubled Families — a case management and conditionality program — found no significant employment or welfare exit effects in a rigorous evaluation. Conditionality appears to reduce participation among the target population more reliably than it increases employment.

UK Troubled Families Programme — National Evaluation

England, United Kingdom · 2017

The UK Troubled Families program — a £1.2 billion intensive family support and conditionality program — found no significant effects on employment, benefit receipt, school attendance, or anti-social behavior in a randomized evaluation of 14,000 families. The program's stated success rate of 99% was based on loosely defined administrative targets, not outcomes.