Every year, the United Nations releases a report on the least developed countries (LDC) and compares their economic conditions in several different categories. For 2002, 49 countries were designated as the least developed. These countries were decided based on their low GDP per capita, their weak human assets, and their high degree of economic vulnerability (UNCTAD, 2002). E-Government implementation and development is a highpriority issue on various countries’ agenda. Some countries have surpassed others in online services that they offer to their citizens. Indicators on education and literacy show that, in Mozambique, only 7% of the total population was enrolled in secondary school. Indicators on communications and media show that, in Bangladesh, only 3.4% of the population has a telephone, while 9.3% are in the circulation of daily newspapers (UNCTAD, 2002).
Although e-government technologies have a potential to improve the lives of 80% of the world’s population that lives in developing countries, the developed countries such as the U.S., Canada, UK, and Australia are so far leaders in e-government (Annual Global Accenture Study, 2002), reaping the vast majority of initial gains of e-government implementation. Actually, the gap between developed and developing countries in Internet technological infrastructures, practices, and usage has been wider rather than narrower over recent years. Besides the lack of sufficient capital to build up expensive national information infrastructure (NII) on which e-government is based, developing countries also lack the sufficient knowledge and skill to develop suitable and effective strategies for establishing and promoting e-government.
An estimated 500 e-government programs were launched in the year 2001 by governments worldwide (Palmer, 2002). E-Government strategies have had a tremendous impact on the way governments interact with their citizens. More than 75% of Australians file income taxes online, while the mayor of Minnesota receives about 13,000 e-mails from the public each week (Palmer, 2002). According to the 2002 Annual Global Accenture (former Anderson consulting: AC) Study, Canada is the leader in e-government implementation. The remaining top 10 countries are (in order): Singapore, the United States, Australia, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Finland, Hong Kong, Germany, and Ireland. A survey by the United Nations found that of its 190 member states, only 36 out of the 169 available Web sites had one-stop portals and less than 20 offered online transactions (Jackson, 2002). This clearly shows a big gap in current e-government implementation status in different countries. A more recent study using the United Nations data empirically proves that e-government development and implementation differ in three areas: income level, development status, and region (Siau & Long, 2005).
In comparison with other countries, the United States along with Australia, Singapore, and Canada are the early leaders in the march toward e-government. Governments in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Norway, Hong Kong, and New Zealand have vowed to change their policies toward the implementation of e-government in order to take the full advantage of the digital information age. Other cautious implementers include Italy, Japan, Netherlands, and South Africa. Though there has been significant progress made in developed countries in e-government implementation, many developing countries have been left behind with a long way to catch up.
History and Culture
The history and culture between developed and developing countries are different in many aspects. Developed countries are known more for their early economic and governmental growth, with many governments forming in the 1500's. Several of the developing countries have just recently gained their independence and still do not have a specific government structure. Culture is also a major difference between developed and developing countries. Religious and other backgrounds among citizens of developing countries prevent them from doing certain activities that are commonplace among developed countries. War is also notorious among some developing countries in the Middle East and Asia (e.g., Afghanistan), which depletes their economy and their government structure.
Technology Staff
The in-house staff for most developed countries has been in existence and well-established. Although many of them are old, with half of the existing United States government information technology (IT) workers eligible to retire within the next three years (Ledford, 2002), the existing department is up and working. In contrast, many developing countries do not have an IT department in place or have an IT department that is low-skilled and insufficiently equipped. Education in these countries is a major problem as well as lack of financial resources to pay skilled workers. This brings up major issues with the development and maintenance of systems. Governments in many developed countries choose to outsource e-government projects. Developed countries often house companies specialized in e-government development within their borders, which makes outsourcing an affordable and convenient alternative. Though companies specialized in e-government development may be available in developing countries, the competitive systems development rates they charge may not be affordable for many developing countries. Even if outsourcing is affordable, without appropriate understanding of IT, many government officials of developing countries will find it difficult to specify requirements and resources to devote for the projects to be outsourced.
Infrastructure
The size and abilities of infrastructures between developed and developing countries differ dramatically. For example, India’s capacity for international telecom traffic reached just 780 Mbps by the end of 2000, which is a mere 1.4% of the capacity available in the neighboring country, China (Dooley, 2002). Developed countries have the infrastructure size and abilities to make Internet and telephone access available to almost all of their residents, with some populations over 300 million. The insufficient infrastructure of developing countries is due to economic conditions, war or destruction, which may have recently occurred, and governmental regulations of the telecommunications industry. A dilemma of government regulations also exists in India, where the sector has been a monopoly since its independence from Great Britain in 1947 (Dooley, 2002). All of these factors, unfortunately, hinder the progress of e-government in developing countries. Citizens The difference of Internet accessibility between developed and developing countries is a reflection of the countries’ infrastructure and telecommunication abilities.
As mentioned previously, developing countries lack financial resources and government stability and structure to contain a sizable infrastructure. This results in low access to the Internet and telephone. One third of the world’s population has never made a phone call, and 63 countries have less than 1% access to the Internet (ICeGD, 2002). In developed countries, almost every citizen has access to the Internet, and the rate of computer literacy surpasses that of developing countries. Government Officers It is imperative that government officials understand and value e-government. The level of resources they are willing to allocate is dependent on their understanding of technology and the benefits that will ensue. In developed countries, most government officials use the Internet or computers on a daily basis. Therefore, government officials in developed countries are familiar with technology and realize how efficient it is. This increases their dedication to allocating additional resources for further implementation. In developing countries, IT is a vague concept, and government officials are somewhat unwilling to allocate already scarce resources toward something they are not familiar with.
Although e-government technologies have a potential to improve the lives of 80% of the world’s population that lives in developing countries, the developed countries such as the U.S., Canada, UK, and Australia are so far leaders in e-government (Annual Global Accenture Study, 2002), reaping the vast majority of initial gains of e-government implementation. Actually, the gap between developed and developing countries in Internet technological infrastructures, practices, and usage has been wider rather than narrower over recent years. Besides the lack of sufficient capital to build up expensive national information infrastructure (NII) on which e-government is based, developing countries also lack the sufficient knowledge and skill to develop suitable and effective strategies for establishing and promoting e-government.
An estimated 500 e-government programs were launched in the year 2001 by governments worldwide (Palmer, 2002). E-Government strategies have had a tremendous impact on the way governments interact with their citizens. More than 75% of Australians file income taxes online, while the mayor of Minnesota receives about 13,000 e-mails from the public each week (Palmer, 2002). According to the 2002 Annual Global Accenture (former Anderson consulting: AC) Study, Canada is the leader in e-government implementation. The remaining top 10 countries are (in order): Singapore, the United States, Australia, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Finland, Hong Kong, Germany, and Ireland. A survey by the United Nations found that of its 190 member states, only 36 out of the 169 available Web sites had one-stop portals and less than 20 offered online transactions (Jackson, 2002). This clearly shows a big gap in current e-government implementation status in different countries. A more recent study using the United Nations data empirically proves that e-government development and implementation differ in three areas: income level, development status, and region (Siau & Long, 2005).
In comparison with other countries, the United States along with Australia, Singapore, and Canada are the early leaders in the march toward e-government. Governments in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Norway, Hong Kong, and New Zealand have vowed to change their policies toward the implementation of e-government in order to take the full advantage of the digital information age. Other cautious implementers include Italy, Japan, Netherlands, and South Africa. Though there has been significant progress made in developed countries in e-government implementation, many developing countries have been left behind with a long way to catch up.
History and Culture
The history and culture between developed and developing countries are different in many aspects. Developed countries are known more for their early economic and governmental growth, with many governments forming in the 1500's. Several of the developing countries have just recently gained their independence and still do not have a specific government structure. Culture is also a major difference between developed and developing countries. Religious and other backgrounds among citizens of developing countries prevent them from doing certain activities that are commonplace among developed countries. War is also notorious among some developing countries in the Middle East and Asia (e.g., Afghanistan), which depletes their economy and their government structure.
Technology Staff
The in-house staff for most developed countries has been in existence and well-established. Although many of them are old, with half of the existing United States government information technology (IT) workers eligible to retire within the next three years (Ledford, 2002), the existing department is up and working. In contrast, many developing countries do not have an IT department in place or have an IT department that is low-skilled and insufficiently equipped. Education in these countries is a major problem as well as lack of financial resources to pay skilled workers. This brings up major issues with the development and maintenance of systems. Governments in many developed countries choose to outsource e-government projects. Developed countries often house companies specialized in e-government development within their borders, which makes outsourcing an affordable and convenient alternative. Though companies specialized in e-government development may be available in developing countries, the competitive systems development rates they charge may not be affordable for many developing countries. Even if outsourcing is affordable, without appropriate understanding of IT, many government officials of developing countries will find it difficult to specify requirements and resources to devote for the projects to be outsourced.
Infrastructure
The size and abilities of infrastructures between developed and developing countries differ dramatically. For example, India’s capacity for international telecom traffic reached just 780 Mbps by the end of 2000, which is a mere 1.4% of the capacity available in the neighboring country, China (Dooley, 2002). Developed countries have the infrastructure size and abilities to make Internet and telephone access available to almost all of their residents, with some populations over 300 million. The insufficient infrastructure of developing countries is due to economic conditions, war or destruction, which may have recently occurred, and governmental regulations of the telecommunications industry. A dilemma of government regulations also exists in India, where the sector has been a monopoly since its independence from Great Britain in 1947 (Dooley, 2002). All of these factors, unfortunately, hinder the progress of e-government in developing countries. Citizens The difference of Internet accessibility between developed and developing countries is a reflection of the countries’ infrastructure and telecommunication abilities.
As mentioned previously, developing countries lack financial resources and government stability and structure to contain a sizable infrastructure. This results in low access to the Internet and telephone. One third of the world’s population has never made a phone call, and 63 countries have less than 1% access to the Internet (ICeGD, 2002). In developed countries, almost every citizen has access to the Internet, and the rate of computer literacy surpasses that of developing countries. Government Officers It is imperative that government officials understand and value e-government. The level of resources they are willing to allocate is dependent on their understanding of technology and the benefits that will ensue. In developed countries, most government officials use the Internet or computers on a daily basis. Therefore, government officials in developed countries are familiar with technology and realize how efficient it is. This increases their dedication to allocating additional resources for further implementation. In developing countries, IT is a vague concept, and government officials are somewhat unwilling to allocate already scarce resources toward something they are not familiar with.