Replication Data for "Interventions to Reduce Bureaucratic Discrimination: a Review of Behavioural Research"

For most people, their most direct experience with “the state” is through everyday interactions with street-level bureaucrats. A fundamental principle of good bureaucratic practice is treating clients without any inappropriate difference. Still, conscious or unconscious bias can lead to discrimination in street-level bureaucracies. While acknowledging the problem, public policy and administration research offers few practical insights about what can be done to reduce bureaucratic discrimination. Adopting an interdisciplinary focus, this article reviews empirical behavioural research studies (N=32) on the effects of interventions to reduce discrimination by street-level bureaucrats. We find evidence of the effectiveness of five types of interventions: increasing passive/active representation, mechanisms to increase accountability, de-biasing training, direct engagement with clients, and policy change. However, causal mechanisms are often insufficiently explicated. Considering the role of scale, the type of relationship with clients, and the focus of the intervention on attitudes and/or behavior appear crucial factors influencing the effectiveness of interventions.