State bureaucratic systems require that citizens apply to them. Research has found variation in who accesses benefits and how they do so. Existing research suggests that the following factors could influence the variation in benefit claim among workers: 1) variation in satisfying eligibility criteria; 2) variation in viewing oneself as deserving of assistance; 3) difficulty navigating state systems; 4) variation in reticence to apply for assistance due to prior negative experiences with the law; and 5) employer practices. The current research uses a subsample of respondents drawn from the Michigan Recession and Recovery Study (a panel survey of a population-representative random sample drawn from the metro-Detroit region) who were unemployed in summer 2011. The subsample will be stratified to include respondents of diverse educational levels and ethnicity. Respondents will be interviewed about the circumstances of their job loss, their strategies for making ends meet, and their experiences with accessing assistance. This information, combined with data from the larger panel survey, will allow researchers to determine program eligibility and reasons for variation in ability to access assistance.
Analysis of these data will offer preliminary answers to the question of why some demographic groups of workers access benefit systems at lower rates than other demographic groups of workers. The research findings will be communicated with policy makers to inform decisionmaking about the structure of state bureaucratic programs.
