The Time Tax: Bureaucracy Costs and Inequality

The article analyzes the concept of the 'time tax,' indicating that identical administrative procedures burden citizens unequally. People with low financial and time resources bear the highest cognitive and emotional cost, giving bureaucracy a regressive character. The authors highlight a paradox of social policy: those most in need of support must sacrifice the most non-renewable time capital on formalities to obtain help. Unlike wealthy individuals, who can delegate administrative tasks (e.g., to lawyers), poor people consume procedures personally. The text also draws attention to the gender dimension of these burdens, pointing to the disproportionately high share of women in unpaid care and administrative work.