Identifier: TFG:2051
Authors: Ellert Gustafsson, Thomas
Abstract:
Every day, more and more activities, such as tax payments, form applications, voting systems, and other services offered by public administrations, are becoming digitized thanks to innovation. The European Union has started two different plans for involving all European countries in fulfilling the target of a better Public Services supply, through the Electronic Government. These plans advice the Member States in the policies they should take, the required investment for digitizing their public services and the changes that must be done in their legislation for preserving the privacy of their citizens online. This paperwork is about the study of the different plans that have been taken by the European Institutions, the policies put into practice in some specific countries, and the analysis of multiple factors that can explain the different trends followed by the countries in terms of eGovernment. For doing so, we have collected data from the European Plans and Eurostat, in terms of the Interaction of Citizens with Public Authorities via Internet and the Index of Digital Economy and Society. Some studies have tried to show the evidence of determinant factors for developing eGovernment measures. We have found that the population size, the countries area, the GDP per capita or the public expenditure and the different knowledge of use of the internet of the elderly affect the levels of eGovernment that different countries can reach. The multiple issues and worries existing in the society are discussed, as well as the concerns about the misuse of personal data, the potential creation of a government that controls the citizens behaviour as in a Big Brother series. A discussion about how truly beneficial this could be for governments is also presented, addressing topics such whether governments will save money and reduce their own costs or if by trying to fulfil this purpose, they will finally end up in high investment costs.
Repositori URV