Click here to download

The costs of the red tape for citizens and businesses
Journal Title: RIVISTA TRIMESTRALE DI SCIENZA DELL’AMMINISTRAZIONE 
Author/s: Raimondo Ingrassia 
Year:  2015 Issue: 3 Language: Italian 
Pages:  21 Pg. 13-33 FullText PDF:  115 KB
DOI:  10.3280/SA2015-003002
(DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation:  clicca qui   and here 


The aim of this study is to understand the costs of red tape for citizens and businesses and how they can be reduced and controlled. Therefore the article addresses the following issues. The concept of red tape according to literature and its relationships with the costs of administrative action. The national government policies undertaken to counter the costs of bureaucracy. The estimation methodology and measurement of administrative costs - the Standard Cost Model - spread and consolidated in the Euro-pean context. Simplification measures for reducing the costs of bureaucratic burdens. The system of forces that could enforce public organizations to address the issue of reducing administration costs for citizens and businesses. The basic thesis is that the driving force of this system should be a transparent comparison with the network of those to whom the costs are allocated.
Keywords: Public organizations - red tape costs - public accountability

  1. Allers M.A. (1994). Administrative and compliance costs of taxation and public transfers in the Netherlands. Groningen: University of Groningen.
  2. Arendsen R., Peters O., ter Hedde M., van Dijk J. (2014). Does e-Government Reduce the Administrative Burden of Businesses? An Assessment of Business-to-Government Systems Usage in the Netherlands. Government Information Quarterly, 31: 160-169., DOI: 10.1016/j.giq.2013.09.002
  3. Aucoin P. (2012). New Political Governance in Westminster Systems: Impartial Public Administration and Management Performance at Risk. Governance: An International Journal of Policy, Administration, and Institutions 25(2): 177-199., DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0491.2012.01569.x
  4. Ban C. (1995). How do public managers manage?. San Francisco (CA): Jossey Bass.
  5. Barrell R., Kirby S. (2007). Notes on the Lisbon process: An analysis of the impacts of reaching the Lisbon targets for skills, R&D and the administrative burden in the European Union. Industrial Policy and Economic Reforms, papers n. 7: 1-47. European Commission. Enterprise and Industry Directorate-General: Brussels.
  6. Bello B., Spano A. (2015). Governing the purple zone: How politicians influence public managers. European Management Journal (in press): 1-12., DOI: 10.1016/j.emj.2015.04.002
  7. o di processi produttivi, beni e servManagerial Responsibility. Public Administration Review, 63(3): 259-268., DOI: 10.1111/1540-6210.00288
  8. Bianco M., Bripi F. (2009). Gli oneri burocratici per l’attività d’impresa: differenze territoriali. Roma: Banca d’Italia, Questioni di Economia e Finanza (occasional paper), 40: 559-591.
  9. Bingham L.B., Nabatchi T., O’Leary R. (2005). The New Governance: Practices and Processes for Stakeholder and Citizen Participation in the Work of Government. Public Administration Review, 65(5): 547-558., DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2005.00482.x
  10. Boyne G.A. (2001). Planning, Performance and Public Services. Public Administration, 79 (1): 73-88., DOI: 10.1111/1467-9299.00246
  11. Bovens M. (2005). Public accountability. In: Ferlie E., Lynne L., Pollitt C. (Eds.). The Oxford handbook of public management: 182-208. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  12. Bozeman B. (1993). A Theory of Government “Red tape”. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory: J-PART, 3(3): 273-303. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/ 1181785.
  13. Bozeman B. (2000). Bureaucracy and Red Tape. Upper Saddle River (NJ): Prentice Hall.
  14. Brewer G.A., Walker R.M. (2010). Explaining Variation in Perceptions of Red tape: A Professionalism-Marketization Model. Public Administration, 88(2): 418-438., DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9299.2010.01827.x
  15. Buchanan J., Tullock G. (1962). The calculus of consent. Ann Arbor (MI): University of Michigan Press.
  16. Burden B.C., Canon D.T., Mayer K.R., Moynihan D.P. (2012).The Effect of Administrative Burden on Bureaucratic Perception of Policies: Evidence from Election Administration. Public Administration Review, 72(5): 741-751. DOI.10.111/j.1540-6210.2012. 02600.x.
  17. Caiden G. (1991). What Really Is Public Maladministration? Public Administration Review, 51(6): 486-493., DOI: 10.2307/976599
  18. Cittalia (2010) (a cura di Caldarozzi A., Testa P.). La semplificazione amministrativa dei comuni italiani. FondazioneAnciRicerche. Ministero per la Pubblica Amministrazione e dell’innovazione.
  19. Crozier M. (1963), Le phénoméne bureaucratique. Paris: Seuil (tr. it. Il fenomeno burocratico. Milano: Etas Kompass, 1969).
  20. Davis F.D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3): 319-340., DOI: 10.2307/249008
  21. Decker R.S., Wimsatt L., Trice A.G., Konstan J.A. (2007). A Profile of Federal Grant Administrative Burden among Federal Demonstration Partnership Faculty. Report (January). Faculty Standing Committee of the Federal Demonstration Partnership: 1-45. Northwestern University (US).
  22. DeHart-Davis L., Pandey S.K. (2005). Red tape and Public Employees: Does Perceived Rule Dysfunction Alienate Managers?. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 15(1): 133-48., DOI: 10.1093/jopart/mui007
  23. Djankov S., La Porta R., Lopez-de-Silanes F., Shleifer A. (2002). The Regulation of Entry. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 117(1): 1-37., DOI: 10.1162/003355302753399436
  24. Dipartimento della Funzione Pubblica (DFP) (2011). La semplificazione amministrativa per le imprese. Milano: Il Sole24Ore Documenti.
  25. Dipartimento della Funzione Pubblica (DFP) (2014). Semplificazione: cosa chiedono cittadini e imprese. Report sui risultati della consultazione pubblica (aprile).
  26. DiMaggio P.J., Powell W.W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review 48: 147-160.
  27. Downs A. (1967). Inside bureaucracy. Boston (MA): Little Brown.
  28. EBRD (1999). Transition report: Ten years of transition. London: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
  29. European Commission (2012). Action Programme for Reducing Administrative Burdens. The EU Final Report: 1-40. Testo disponibile al sito: http://ec.europa.eu.
  30. Ferrara G. (1999). Comunicazione dell’azienda pubblica e soddisfazione dell’utente. In: Brondoni S. (a cura di), La comunicazione nell’azienda pubblica. I paradigmi di efficacia e di efficienza. Torino: Giappichelli: 65-72.
  31. Ferroni F. (2011). La misurazione degli oneri amministrativi nelle politiche europee di better regulation. Le Istituzioni del federalismo, 1: 29-38.
  32. Giauque D., Ritz A., Varone F., Anderfuhren-Biget S. (2012). Resigned but Satisfied: The Negative Impact of Public Service Motivation and Red tape on Work Satisfaction. Public Administration, 90(1): 175-193., DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9299.2011.01953.x
  33. Goodsell Ch.T. (2000). Red tape and a Theory of Bureaucratic Rules. Public Administration Review, 60(4): 373-375., DOI: 10.1111/0033-3352.00099
  34. Graeber D. (2015). The Utopia of Rules. New York: Melville House Books.
  35. Guriev S. (2003). Red tape and Corruption. Discussion Paper, n. 3972 (July): 1-27. London: Centre for Economic Policy Research.
  36. Kaufman H. (1977). Red Tape: Its Origins, Uses, and Abuses. Washington (DC): The Brookings Institution.
  37. Kox E. (2005), Intra-EU differences in regulation-caused administrative burden for companies, CPB Memorandum, Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, n. 136(1), December.
  38. Hampton Ph. (2004). Reducing administrative burdens: effective inspection and enforcement. Norwich
  39. (UK): Crown. Herd P., DeLeire T., Harvey H., Moynihan D.P. (2013). Shifting Administrative Burden to the State: The Case of Medicaid Take-Up. Public Administration Review, 73 (S1): S69-S81., DOI: 10.1111/puar.12114
  40. High Level Group on Administrative Burdens (HLG) (2014). Cutting Red Tape in Europe. Final Report:
  41. 1-60. Brussels.
  42. Hood C., Huby M., Dunsire A. (1987). British administrative trends and the public choice revolution.
  43. In: Lane J.E. (Ed.), Bureaucracy and public choice. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. 146-170.
  44. Ingrassia R. (2007). Organizzazione e comunicazione dell’azione amministrativa. Milano: FrancoAngeli.
  45. La Porta R., Lopes-de-Silanes F., Shleifer A. (1999). The Quality of Government. Journal of Law Economics and Organization, 15: 222-279., DOI: 10.1093/jleo/15.1.222
  46. Landau M. (1969). Redundancy, rationality, and the problem of duplication and overlap. Public Administration Review, 29: 346-358., DOI: 10.2307/973247
  47. Lavertu S., Lewis D.E., Moynihan D.P. (2013). Government Reform, Political Ideology, and Administrative Burden: The Case of Performance Management in the Bush Administration. Public Administration Review, 73(6): 845-857., DOI: 10.1111/puar.12132
  48. Leshner A.I. (2008). Reduce Administrative Burden. Science, 322(12)., DOI: 10.1126/science.1168345
  49. L’Espresso del 04.06.2015. Class action ambientale. Maddalena M.L. (2013). La class action pubblica. Rassegna monotematica di giurisprudenza (aggiornata al dicembre 2013). Testo disponibile al sito: www.giustizia-amministrativa.it.
  50. Mattina L. (2010). I gruppi di interesse. Bologna: il Mulino.
  51. Mussari R. (2011). Economia delle amministrazioni pubbliche. Milano: McGraw-Hill.
  52. Niskanen W. (1971). Bureaucracy and representative government. Chicago (IL): Aldine Publishing Co. Office of Public Service Reform (UK) (OPSR) (2002). Reforming Our Public Services: Principles into Practice. London: Prime Minister’s Office of Public Service Reform. Testo disponibile al sito: www.gov.uk/government.
  53. Pandey S.K., Moynihan D.P. (2006). Bureaucratic Red tape and Organizational Performance: Testing the Moderating Role of Culture and Political Support. In: Boyne G.A., Meier, K.J., O’Toole Jr. L.J., Walker R.M. (Eds.), Public Service Performance. Cambridge, England, Cambridge University Press.
  54. Pandey S.K., Welch E.W. (2005). Beyond Stereotypes. A Multistage Model of Managerial Perceptions of Red tape. Administration & Society, 37(5): 542-575., DOI: 10.1177/00953-99705278594
  55. Renda A., Schrefler L., Luchetta G., Zavatta R. (2013). Assessing the Cost and Benefits of Regulation. Study for the European Commission (Secretariat General). Final Report of Research Team: 1-221.
  56. Brussels. Rogers E.M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.) New York: Free Press.
  57. Rowley J. (2011). e-Government stakeholder. Who are they and what do they want? International Journal of Information Management, 31: 53-62., DOI: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2010.05.005
  58. Schillemans T. (2008). Accountability in the Shadow of Hierarchy: The Horizontal Accountability of Agencies. Public Organization Review, 8: 175-194., DOI: 10.1007/s11115-008-0053-8
  59. SCM Network/a (2015) How to reduce administrative burdens?.
  60. SCM Network/a/step 1 (2015). How to reduce administrative burdens.
  61. SCM Network/a/step 2 (2015). How to reduce administrative burdens.
  62. SCM Network/a/step 3 (2015). How to reduce administrative burdens.
  63. SCM Network/b (2015). How Five Routes to Simplification.
  64. SCM Network/c (2015). Why reduce to reduce administrative burdens.
  65. SCM Network/d (2015). Measurement and Reduction of Administrative Burdens Italy.
  66. Scott C. (2000). Accountability in the Regulatory State. Journal of Law and Society, 27: 38-60., DOI: 10.1111/1467-6478.00146
  67. Scott G.P., Pandey S.K. (2000). The Influence of Red tape on Bureaucratic Behavior: An Experimental Simulation. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. 19(4): 615-633., DOI: 10.1002/1520-6688(200023)19:4<615::AID-PAM6>3.0.CO;2-U
  68. Thomas J.C.. (1995). Public Participation in Public Decisions: New Skills and Strategies for Public Managers. San Francisco (CA): Jossey-Bass.
  69. Walker R.M., Brewer G.A. (2008), An Organizational Echelon Analysis of the Determinants of Red tape in Public Organizations. Public Administration Review, November/December: 1112-1127., DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2008.00959.x
  70. Walker R.M., Brewer G.A. (2009). Can Management Strategy Minimize the Impact of Red tape on Organizational Performance? Administration & Society, 41(4): 423-448., DOI: 10.1177/0095399709-338027
  71. Wegrich K. (2009), The Administrative Burden Reduction Policy Boom in Europe: Comparing mechanisms of policy diffusion. Centre for analysis of risk and regulation (An ESRC Research Centre), London School of Economic and Political Science. Discussion Paper, n. 52 (march).
  72. Wimsatt L., Trice A., Langley D. (2009). Faculty Perspectives on Academic Work and Administrative Burden: Implications for the Design of Effective Support Services. The Journal of Research Administration, vol. XL(1): 1-19.

Raimondo Ingrassia, The costs of the red tape for citizens and businesses in "RIVISTA TRIMESTRALE DI SCIENZA DELL’AMMINISTRAZIONE" 3/2015, pp. 13-33, DOI:10.3280/SA2015-003002

   

FrancoAngeli is a member of Publishers International Linking Association a not for profit orgasnization wich runs the CrossRef service, enabing links to and from online scholarly content