Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 5.1
Map
of
United
Nations
E-government
Readiness
Indices,
2012.
Source
http://
www2.unpan.org/egovkb/global_reports/12report.htm
the basis of several measures, including the government's web presence, the
country's technological infrastructure, and the human capital available to dis-
seminate e-government service. The resulting map yields the depressingly familiar
contours of global wealth and poverty (Fig. 5.1 ). The top 20 countries indicate a
serious commitment to e-government efforts (Table 5.1 ). South Korea exhibits the
world's best developed e-government system. Closely following are the United
States and Canada. European countries dominate the list numerically, comprising
17 of the top 25 countries. Of this list, only a few countries are not OECD
members, including Singapore (rank 11), Bahrain (13), Liechtenstein (23), and
Luxembourg (25), all of which are prosperous but numerically small in population.
Although e-government is best developed in the world's economically advanced
countries (Basu 2004 ), where high internet penetration rates facilitate citizen
access, it has also made slow but steady inroads in many countries of the devel-
oping world. To a much greater extent than in the developed world, e-government
initiatives are greeted with considerable fanfare and hyperbole but disappointing
results,
often
as the result of
exaggerated expectations
and resistance
from
bureaucrats.
5.3.1 North America
Since the first initiatives of the Clinton Administration in the 1990 s, the United
States has been a major force in promoting e-government. In 1997 it started the
National Partnership for Reinventing Government's Access America program, and
in 2000 launched its first federal government internet portal, FirstGov.gov; similar
websites include USA.gov, Data.gov, and USAspending.gov, which offer a wealth
of information and links to various agencies. The E-government Act of 2002 created
the Office of E-government and Information Technology ( http://www.whitehouse.
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