How the content of digital complaints shapes bureaucratic responsiveness in Mumbai

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kumar, Tanu
• 署名单位: Claremont Colleges; Claremont Graduate University
• 刊物名称: GOVERNANCE-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF POLICY ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0952-1895
• DOI: 10.1111/gove.12889
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: government responsiveness; distributive politics; machine politics; ACCOUNTABILITY; decentralization; governance; provision; DEMOCRACY; service; MODEL

摘要

When do unelected officials respond to citizen complaints, and what are the implications for service delivery? In the formal complaint system for Mumbai's water sector, bureaucrats addressed 44% of the roughly 20,000 complaints lodged from 2016 to 2018. In line with literature on distributive politics, responsiveness to marginalized citizens is lower. Yet in interviews, officials emphasize that programmatic goals and capacity constraints lead to prioritization by what the complaint is about. In fact, once controlling for complaint content, the relationship between complainant identity and responsiveness disappears. Initial patterns of differential responsiveness by complainant identity arise from the fact that citizens from marginalized groups experience lower levels of service provision, which leads them to make complaints that are more difficult to address. The paper sheds light on the role of bureaucracy in e-governance and service delivery, showing administrative priorities in responding to complaints may perpetuate inequalities in service provision.