Economics
How Discretionary Power Shapes Bureaucratic Decision-Making in Welfare Offices
Quick fact
In the 1980s, the U.S. federal government introduced welfare reforms that increased caseworker discretion, and studies found that discretionary decisions on eligibility could vary widely even within the same office—sometimes leading to different outcomes for identical cases.
Why this is interesting
Imagine two people with identical applications for food assistance: one gets approved quickly, the other gets denied. They both follow the same rules—so why the different outcome? The answer lies in the invisible power of the caseworker.