The economic crisis has revived the most aggressive criticisms and bashing against bureaucracy. Bureauphobia (having a negative image of public administration which resists even positive encounters and experiences with public administration) is a phenomenon that has been found in a number of countries around the world. However, we still know little about it. What factors explain bureauphobia? Can it be explained, for example, by individual variables (i.e. socio-demographic or ideological factors) or is it associated with contextual conditions (i.e. regional economic and social conditions, wealth, governmental performance). Most importantly, what are the main consequences of bureauphobia? Do burophobes have different preferences and behavior regarding consumption of public services? Is bureauphobia only a stereotype without any additional behavioral or attitudinal consequences? With the aim of answering this question we the Spanish case is explored using a large survey (8,000 cases) carried out in 2009 by the Spanish Centre for Sociological Research (CIS). This survey is statistically representative at the regional level, which allows us to analyze the effect of different contextual variables.
