Welfare Walls

Welfare Walls: Why people do not use welfare - And how to change that​

​

Millions of people could escape poverty with government help. However, many never apply for government benefits, such as rental allowance, that they are entitled to. This is known as ‘non-take-up' of government services. This problem deepens poverty but receives little attention. Scholars and policymakers focus on fraud committed by citizens or errors in fraud detection by the government. The Welfare Walls project, however, investigates why people do not apply for benefits. The researchers will develop a model to explain non-take-up and study ways to reduce it. Ultimately, they aim to understand and reduce non-take-up, a severe problem hurting poor people.
​​

Funded by NWO (Dutch Science Foundation) VICI grant for the project “Welfare Walls” projectnumber VI.C.251.038.