Gauging the Gap: Inequality of Time Use When Seeking Government Services
Seeking government services and interacting with the administrative state require time and waiting. However, the use of time while interacting with the administrative state is unevenly distributed across racialized groups. Using data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) 2003–2022, we examine in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Journal of Social Equity and Public Administration |
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| Online Access: | https://jsepajournal.org/index.php/jsepa/article/view/6273 |
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| author | Andrea Briceno-Mosquera Sharon Mastracci |
| author_facet | Andrea Briceno-Mosquera Sharon Mastracci |
| author_sort | Andrea Briceno-Mosquera |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Seeking government services and interacting with the administrative state require time and waiting. However, the use of time while interacting with the administrative state is unevenly distributed across racialized groups. Using data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) 2003–2022, we examine inequities when seeking and waiting for government services. Blacks wait 1.7 times longer, and Hispanics wait 1.6 times longer than Whites when seeking government services. Individuals without a partner, with more household children, and the unemployed also devote more time waiting for government services. This article contributes to the scholarship on administrative burdens by arguing that uneven wait time distribution may result from racialized administrative procedures. Those who spend more time seeking government services and waiting experience higher opportunity costs that interfere with their lives, reproducing and normalizing injustices. Uneven wait times may also engender animosity toward the administrative state among already marginalized individuals.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9e1daf5639264a0a8b5a1538c366e0bd |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2832-9287 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Social Equity and Public Administration |
| spelling | doaj-art-9e1daf5639264a0a8b5a1538c366e0bd2025-08-20T02:43:43ZengUniversity of Minnesota Libraries PublishingJournal of Social Equity and Public Administration2832-92872025-07-013210.24926/jsepa.v3i2.6273Gauging the Gap: Inequality of Time Use When Seeking Government ServicesAndrea Briceno-Mosquera0Sharon Mastracci 1Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityCenter for Public Administration and Policy (CPAP) at Virginia Tech Seeking government services and interacting with the administrative state require time and waiting. However, the use of time while interacting with the administrative state is unevenly distributed across racialized groups. Using data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) 2003–2022, we examine inequities when seeking and waiting for government services. Blacks wait 1.7 times longer, and Hispanics wait 1.6 times longer than Whites when seeking government services. Individuals without a partner, with more household children, and the unemployed also devote more time waiting for government services. This article contributes to the scholarship on administrative burdens by arguing that uneven wait time distribution may result from racialized administrative procedures. Those who spend more time seeking government services and waiting experience higher opportunity costs that interfere with their lives, reproducing and normalizing injustices. Uneven wait times may also engender animosity toward the administrative state among already marginalized individuals. https://jsepajournal.org/index.php/jsepa/article/view/6273Racialized burdensadministrative burdensAmerican Time Use Survey (ATUS)government serviceswaiting time |
| spellingShingle | Andrea Briceno-Mosquera Sharon Mastracci Gauging the Gap: Inequality of Time Use When Seeking Government Services Journal of Social Equity and Public Administration Racialized burdens administrative burdens American Time Use Survey (ATUS) government services waiting time |
| title | Gauging the Gap: Inequality of Time Use When Seeking Government Services |
| title_full | Gauging the Gap: Inequality of Time Use When Seeking Government Services |
| title_fullStr | Gauging the Gap: Inequality of Time Use When Seeking Government Services |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gauging the Gap: Inequality of Time Use When Seeking Government Services |
| title_short | Gauging the Gap: Inequality of Time Use When Seeking Government Services |
| title_sort | gauging the gap inequality of time use when seeking government services |
| topic | Racialized burdens administrative burdens American Time Use Survey (ATUS) government services waiting time |
| url | https://jsepajournal.org/index.php/jsepa/article/view/6273 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT andreabricenomosquera gaugingthegapinequalityoftimeusewhenseekinggovernmentservices AT sharonmastracci gaugingthegapinequalityoftimeusewhenseekinggovernmentservices |