E-Government and Anti-Corruption: Empirical Analysis of International Data

Case studies demonstrate that e-government is an effective tool to reduce corruption by promoting good governance and strengthening reform-oriented actors. Specifically, e-government can reduce corrupt behaviors externally by enhancing relationships with citizens and internally by more effectively controlling and monitoring employees' behaviors. This study examines the impact of e-government on corruption using national level data. The impacts of other traditional factors-bureaucratic professionalism, bureaucratic quality, and law enforcement-proposed by the public administration literature are also examined. Statistical analysis reveals that e-government has a consistently positive impact on reducing corruption, as do the traditional anti-corruption factors.