Understanding clerical decisions in granting social assistance: Insights from national social security officials in Brazil

Abstract

Street-level professionals, such as social workers, shape policy implementation by exerting discretion. However, it remains unclear how other street-level bureaucrats (SLBs), who are not considered to hold a professional status and who perform highly regulated activities, can do the same. Even though the decision-making leeway of these SLBs is marginal, the aggregated effects can be strong. This is especially true for the social security systems of large developing economies, such as Brazil’s National Social Security Institute (INSS), the operation of which depends very heavily on the roles played by INSS officials. This study addresses how these officials perceive their discretion. It applies an analytical framework, based on street-level bureaucracy and discretion theories, to qualitatively approach the survey data (n = 486). The findings evidence diverse ways in which officials perceive their discretion, providing insights for policy makers and management. Based on the findings, the proposed model can also be adapted to other national social security system contexts.