Relationship between E-Government and the Quality of Public Goods Provision and Government Effectiveness

The research examines the relationship between e-government, the provision of public goods, and government effectiveness. There is no consensus in the research community regarding the success of e-government projects. On the one hand, international and regional organisations are actively encouraging the use of digital technologies to improve people's quality of life and increase the availability of public services. On the other hand, many researchers note that most of these projects fail, especially in developing countries, which raises questions about the need to spend resources on e-government. The problem was especially actualised due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when various examples of using new technologies to curb the virus come from different countries. Accordingly, the purpose of the study is to understand the impact of the level of development of e-government on the quality of public goods and government effectiveness. The research used data primarily from the United Nations and the World Bank from 2003 to 2018. With the help of a regression analysis on a sample of 181 countries, it was found that e-government has a positive effect on the quality of public goods and government effectiveness, and this effect was stronger in developing countries. Moreover, a previously underestimated “compensatory effect” was discovered: in developing countries with a low level of openness and accountability, e-government often had a more significant positive impact on the quality of public goods than in countries with a higher level of accountability. Additionally, using the anecdotal evidence of three developing countries, the limitations and challenges that developing countries face when implementing e-government projects are listed. In general, the study allows us to make an optimistic conclusion that supporting and implementing policies aimed at the increased use of e-government in different countries of the world is the right strategy, but it also emphasises the need to deal with existing limitations to increase the benefits of new technologies in public policy.