Expanding access to identification cards and social programs: Experimental evidence from Panamá

Abstract

We experimentally analyze the effects of an intervention to induce the renewal of identification cards on access to a government social program in Panamá. On-time renewals and access to government transfers increased by 10 and 3.6 percentage points, respectively. Simple reminders about expiration dates generated larger effects than also enabling individuals to renew their documents through an online platform, which users struggled to use despite its being designed to simplify the process. The results suggest that increasing access to identity documentation can reduce exclusion errors in social programs and that simply granting access to e-government platforms may not necessarily improve public service delivery.