Effects of the Digital Divide in E-Participation Development in the UN Countries: Explanatory Factors of E-Participation for UN Countries

摘要

E-government offers citizens the potential for greater access to their representatives and confers policy makers the possibility to make G2C relationships more inclusive. However, the real translation into governance outcomes will depend on policy makers' consideration of the environmental complexity and the singular characteristics of the target population. This paper analyses the relationships between e-participation development and the variables associated to the digital divide in a sample of 178 countries for the period 2008-2016. The authors use a multiple linear regression model and the UN's E-participation Index as the dependent variable. The test of the hypotheses shows the significant and positive effect of telecommunications infrastructure and age and a significant negative effect of education and rural condition. Results reveal that Gender and Political freedom and Democracy are not influential.