Paradoxical digital inclusion: The mixed blessing of street-level intermediaries in reducing administrative burden

Abstract

This study draws on longitudinal qualitative data and insights from the literature on administrative burdens, street-level bureaucracy, and digital government to advance the debate on digital inclusion. It sheds light on a paradoxical form of digital inclusion enacted by an unexplored tier of private street-level intermediaries. This paradoxical digital inclusion manifests in three ways. First, digitization reduces administrative burdens by streamlining access to digital services, yet it reproduces administrative burdens for digitally disadvantaged users. Second, digital-by-default policies help realize public value generated by digitization, yet they create economic value for street-level intermediaries to monetize digital inclusion. Third, private street-level intermediaries contribute to digital inclusion and benefit economically from sustaining digital exclusion. This study contributes to the literature on digital inclusion and administrative burden by revealing and explaining the complex and paradoxical mechanisms through which digital inclusion is enacted at the street-level. These detailed insights can enrich policy debates on digital inclusion and be useful in designing digital inclusion policies, specifically in contexts where such forms of ‘paradoxical inclusion’ are present.