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Explaining the Underdevelopment of Rural E-Government: The Case of Romania

Explaining the Underdevelopment of Rural E-Government: The Case of Romania

Virgil Stoica, Andrei Ilas
Copyright: © 2013 |Pages: 18
ISBN13: 9781466640900|ISBN10: 1466640901|EISBN13: 9781466640917
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-4090-0.ch015
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MLA

Stoica, Virgil, and Andrei Ilas. "Explaining the Underdevelopment of Rural E-Government: The Case of Romania." E-Government Implementation and Practice in Developing Countries, edited by Zaigham Mahmood, IGI Global, 2013, pp. 331-348. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-4090-0.ch015

APA

Stoica, V. & Ilas, A. (2013). Explaining the Underdevelopment of Rural E-Government: The Case of Romania. In Z. Mahmood (Ed.), E-Government Implementation and Practice in Developing Countries (pp. 331-348). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-4090-0.ch015

Chicago

Stoica, Virgil, and Andrei Ilas. "Explaining the Underdevelopment of Rural E-Government: The Case of Romania." In E-Government Implementation and Practice in Developing Countries, edited by Zaigham Mahmood, 331-348. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2013. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-4090-0.ch015

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Abstract

The advent of information and communications technology led the public administration of many countries to step into a new era. During the last decade, an increasing number of researchers analysed the e-government performance of national governments, regions, and large cities. However, far less attention has been paid to villages and rural areas, probably because their e-government was not a prioritised target for national policies and, consequently, was not developing at the same pace. In fact, rural e-government is nothing but a part of e-government and should be included in e-government policies. However, from a practical point of view, rural e-government raises specific issues, especially in those society where the divide between cities and villages still clearly exists. E-government could significantly improve rural services, support economic development, and encourage citizen engagement. The goal of this research is to assess the rural e-government level in Romania by evaluating five core components: 1) security and personal data protection; 2) usability; 3) content; 4) type of services; and 5) digital democracy. The low scores obtained by the only two measurable components—usability and content—allow one to conclude that Romanian rural e-government is in its early stages. Based on some unexpected collateral conclusions, the authors offer suggestions for future researches and policy makers.

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