Sludge: el laberinto burocrático en la interacción ciudadanía-Estado. Aplicaciones, desafíos y oportunidades para la mejora de la experiencia ciudadana

• Diego Valero ^[1] ; David Laurent ^[2]
  1. [1] Universitat de Barcelona

     Universitat de Barcelona

     Barcelona, España

     
  2. [2] Chief Behavioral Officer Novaster
• Localización: Información Comercial Española, ICE: Revista de economía, ISSN 0019-977X, ISSN-e 2340-8790, Nº 940, 2025 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Economía del comportamiento para mejorar las políticas públicas I. Los fundamentos), págs. 53-71
• Idioma: español
• DOI: 10.32796/ice.2025.940.7943
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Sludge:: The Bureaucratic Maze in Citizen-State Interaction. Applications, Challenges, and Opportunities for Improving the Citizen Experience
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen
  • español

    Los procesos administrativos son fundamentales en la relación entre ciudadanía y Estado, pero, a menudo, funcionan como laberintos llenos de fricciones, tiempos muertos y requisitos innecesarios. Este artículo analiza el sludge: trabas burocráticas que generan costos económicos y psicológicos, reducen la eficacia institucional y generan barreras en la interacción con el Estado. Se propone una tipología que vincula estos obstáculos con mecanismos de decisión humana, y una metodología de auditoría en cuatro fases. A través de casos internacionales, se presentan estrategias para rediseñar procesos administrativos centrados en la interacción ciudadano-Estado, bajo principios de economía del comportamiento

  • English

    Administrative processes are fundamental to the relationship between citizens and the State, but they often function as labyrinths filled with friction, downtime, and unnecessary requirements. This article analyzes sludge: bureaucratic obstacles that generate economic and psychological costs, reduce institutional effectiveness, and create barriers in interactions with the State. It proposes a typology that links these obstacles to human decision-making mechanisms, along with a four-phase audit methodology. Through international case studies, it presents strategies to redesign administrative processes focused on citizen-State interaction, grounded in behavioral economics principles

• Referencias bibliográficas
  • BIT. (2014). EAST: Four simple ways to apply behavioural insights. Behavioural Insights Team.
  • BIT. (2019). Reducing administrative burdens: A guide to applying behavioural insights. Behavioural Insights Team Press.
  • Ellsberg, D. (1961). Risk, ambiguity, and the savage axioms. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 75(4), 643-669. https://doi. org/10.2307/1884324
  • Eppler, M. J., & Mengis, J. (2004). The concept of information overload: A review of literature from organization science, accounting,...
  • Hood, C. (1991). A public management for all seasons? Public Administration, 69(1), 3-19. https://doi.org/10.1111 /j.1467- 9299.1991.tb00779.x
  • Iyengar, S. S., & Lepper, M. R. (2000). When choice is demotivating: Can one desire too much of a good thing? Journal of Personality and...
  • Jacoby, J. (1984). Perspectives on information overload. Journal of Consumer Research, 10(4), 432-435.
  • Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263- 291. https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185
  • Laibson, D. (1997). Golden eggs and hyperbolic discounting. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(2), 443-478. https:// doi.org/10.1162/003355397555253
  • Merton, R. K. (1963). Bureaucratic structure and personality. In N. J. Smelser & W. T. Smelser (Eds.), Personality and social systems...
  • O’Donoghue, T., & Rabin, M. (1999). Doing it now or later. American Economic Review, 89(1), 103-124. https://doi. org / 10.1257 / aer.89.1.103
  • OECD. (2017). Behavioural insights and public policy: Lessons from around the world. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
  • OECD. (2020). Digital government review of Estonia: Towards a data-driven public sector. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
  • Samuelson, W., & Zeckhauser, R. (1988). Status quo bias in decision making. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 1, 7-59. https:// doi. org/10.1007/BF00055564
  • Schwartz, B. (2004). The paradox of choice: Why more is less. Ecco.
  • Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological...
  • Sunstein, C. R. (2020). Too much information: Understanding what you don’t want to know. MIT Press.
  • Sunstein, C. R. (2021). Sludge: What stops us from getting things done and what to do about it. MIT Press.
  • Thaler, R. H. (1980). Toward a positive theory of consumer choice. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 1(1), 39-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-2681(80)90051-7
  • Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2008). Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. Yale University Press.
  • Weber, M. (1978). Economy and society: An outline of interpretive sociology. University of California Press.