Bureaucracy costs

Bureaucracy is the performance of administrative activities based on clear rules and within defined structures. Bureaucratic procedures take place in both government and non-government administration, that is, in authorities, businesses and associations. Bureaucracy, or “red tape”, is often perceived as a burden and put on a par with excessive regulation. Cutting red tape is therefore one of the Federal Government's goals. This refers to the reduction of laws and regulations to ease the burden on both citizens and businesses.
The first step is to measure bureaucracy comprehensively and to provide a complete representation in order to identify changes. To this end, we measure the compliance costs that have to be borne by citizens, businesses and public authorities in order to observe laws and regulations. One part of this process examines the costs incurred by businesses because of conventional paperwork. This component is illustrated by the administrative burden index. The barometer of burdens measures the costs incurred by businesses in meeting reporting obligations for official statistics.
Another aim is to keep bureaucracy to a minimum when new laws and regulations are introduced. For this reason, we carry out cost estimations, referred to as ex-ante estimations, during the development phase of new regulations and provide support in their evaluation and subsequent measurement.
The Federal Statistical Office regularly conducts the life events survey to collect information on the citizens' and businesses' satisfaction with the services rendered by public administration.