Does External Environment Affect E-Government? A Cross- Country Analysis - Information and Communication Technologies in Public Administration - page 65

generally increase the Internet usage level within these countries. Based on the
arguments above, the following hypotheses can be developed:
H2: Higher levels of democracy result in higher levels of e-government development.
H3: Higher levels of democracy result in higher levels of Internet usage.
3.2.3 Education and E-Government
Higher levels of education serve as a great foundation for governments to improve
its e-government level. Educated societies provide more qualified employees and
increase the public need for e-government because more and more citizens realize
the importance of e-government and can enjoy the services. In addition, higher lev-
els of education can indirectly affect e-government by increasing levels of democracy
and Internet usage. Singh et al. (2007) also emphasized that, besides the negative
influence of government instability, pervasive corruption, arbitrary rule, and an
ineffective government mandate, a voiceless citizenry and human capital make it
unlikely for e-government to progress beyond basic information publishing, which
consists mainly of propaganda.
The hypothesis that higher levels of education lead to more democratic poli-
tics (Glaeser, Ponzetto, & Shleifer, 2006; Lipset, 1959; Zheng & Holzer, 2013)
has received a good deal of empirical support (Barro, 1999; Glaeser et al., 2006;
Papaioannou & Siourounis, 2005). Glaeser et al. (2006) argued that schooling
teaches people to interact with others and increases the benefits of civic participa-
tion, including voting and organizing. Education enables citizens to comprehend
the mechanisms of government, understand their right to receive services from
the government and express themselves, know their responsibilities to supervise
and push the government in order to improve its performance, and increase their
desire to participate in the government decision-making process. Consequentially,
countries with higher levels of education should exhibit higher levels of democracy.
In addition, research shows that people with higher education are more likely
to use a computer and the Internet. The average educational level in a country is
a strong predictor of Internet usage (Guillén & Suárez, 2005; Zheng & Holzer,
2013). Specifically, educated individuals have more desire and ability to use the
Internet for work and entertainment. Therefore, countries with a higher level of
education should have higher Internet usage rates, which should result in higher
levels of e-government.
H4: Countries with higher education levels have higher levels of e-government.
H5: Countries with higher education levels have higher levels of democracy.
H6: Countries with higher education levels have higher levels of Internet usage.