A conceptual model for e-government adoption in Egypt

Electronic government (e-government) was created as an efficient method for government adeptness and proficiency as a vital facilitator for citizen-oriented services. Since their establishment over a decade ago, E-government services are recognised as a vehicle for accessing online public services. Both governments and academic researchers comprehend the difficulty of low-level adoption of e-government services among citizens; a shared issue between both developing and developed countries. This paper investigates determinants and factors necessary to enhance adoption of citizens for e- government services in developing countries, with particular focus on Egypt, by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) using a set of political, social, and design constructs that were developed from different sources of research literatur

Assessing the adoption of e-government using TAM model: case of Egypt

Electronic government (e-government) was known as an efficient method for government expertness and proficiency as a vital facilitator for citizen-oriented services. Since their initiation over a decade ago, Egovernment services are recognised as a vehicle for accessing online public services. Both governments and academic researchers understand the difficulty of low-level adoption of e-government services among citizens; a common problem between both developing and developed countries. This paper investigates determinants and factors necessary to enhance adoption of citizens for e-government services in developing countries, with particular focus on Egypt, by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) using a set of political, social, and design constructs that were developed from different sources of research literature

Towards the Development of an Adoption Model for E-Government Services in Developing Countries

E-government services have become powerful tools in government organizations by offering different information instantly and effectively. Specifically, information and communication technologies have become very useful tools in developing the ability of staff to accomplish jobs effectively and efficiently. Unlike developed countries which face only few issues in the adoption of e-government services, developing countries encounter several adoption problems from the stakeholders’ point of view. Government-to-employee (G2E) is one aspect of e-government that covers activities and services that transpire between government units and their workers. This paper identifies the factors that improve the adoption of e-government services by employees in developing countries. The selected success factors (website quality, awareness, computer-self-efficiency, IT workforce capability and training) extended with Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) – an extensively used model. The final conceptual model is proposed and presented in this paper

Modelling use continuance in virtual worlds: The case of second life

Electronic government (e-government) has shown encouraging results in developed countries in the context of delivering electronic information and services to citizens. However, despite the many lessons that can be learned from the experiences of those egovernment initiatives, developing countries are still faced with various issues pertaining to their implementation of e-government services. Like many other developing countries, the e-government initiative in the state of Qatar has faced a number of challenges since its inception in 2000. Using a survey based study this paper describes citizens’ behavioural intention in terms of applying the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of technology (UTAUT) model to explore the adoption and diffusion of e-government services in the state of Qatar. Analysis of the results indicates that there is significant positive relationship between performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and behavioural intention to use e-government services for the citizens of Qatar. Implications for practice and research are discussed

REGIONAL COOPERATION IN DEALING WITH ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. E-GOVERNMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ANDEAN COUNTRIES

E-government for Sustainable Development is one of international cooperation strategy in dealing with environmental protection and ecological problems through enhanced citizen participation, better access and quality of services in order to achieve Green Governments. In this context, some countries are supported by international assistance to achieve this goal with benchmarking and benchlearning approaches. This research contributes to explain the relationship between improvements in governance influences in economic, social and environmental development and how such regional cooperation on the development of national information and communication technology (ICT) strategies and programs is related to E-government and Sustainable Development. This comparative study of Andean countries takes a Rational Neo-institutionalist perspective to look at longitudinal changes in these developing countries. Quantitative data such as E-government index is combined with qualitative information from reports and documents in order to empirically examine effects of e-government on sustainable development in these countries. The findings show that the strategies adopted by Ecuador have significantly contributed to its location within the references in progress of E-government and Sustainable Development in the region. The research suggests that E-government development has positive effects on better governance and sustainable development of Andeans countries. Advancement on E-government is not only a trait of developed countries but also serves as an enabler for sustainable development of developing countries

Inequality, Political Systems and Public Spending

Political regimes and institutions di®er across countries. Such char- acteristics in°uence public spending within each country. The aim of this paper is to check for the existence of a link between political institu- tions, income inequality and public spending. We develop an empirical investigation, based on panel data analysis, on the determinants of pub- lic spending focusing on political, economic, demographic and social variables in large sample of developed and developing countries from 1970 to 2005. In particular, we focus on the e®ects of electoral rules on government consumption ¯nding that in countries with proportional electoral rule an increase in the heterogeneity of the government in- creases government consumption, while in countries with majoriratian electoral rule, a shift from presidential to parliamentary system leads to an increase in government consumption. We ¯nd that the link between income distribution, measured by the Gini index, and public spending depends upon institutional characteristics. Moreover, we ¯nd empiri- cal support for the argument that government spending is a policy tool used by governments to insurance the domestic economy from external shocks stemming from international trade.

REGIONAL COOPERATION IN DEALING WITH ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. E-GOVERNMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ANDEAN COUNTRIES

E-government for Sustainable Development is one of international cooperation strategy in dealing with environmental protection and ecological problems through enhanced citizen participation, better access and quality of services in order to achieve Green Governments. In this context, some countries are supported by international assistance to achieve this goal with benchmarking and benchlearning approaches. This research contributes to explain the relationship between improvements in governance influences in economic, social and environmental development and how such regional cooperation on the development of national information and communication technology (ICT) strategies and programs is related to E-government and Sustainable Development. This comparative study of Andean countries takes a Rational Neo-institutionalist perspective to look at longitudinal changes in these developing countries. Quantitative data such as E-government index is combined with qualitative information from reports and documents in order to empirically examine effects of e-government on sustainable development in these countries. The findings show that the strategies adopted by Ecuador have significantly contributed to its location within the references in progress of E-government and Sustainable Development in the region. The research suggests that E-government development has positive effects on better governance and sustainable development of Andeans countries. Advancement on E-government is not only a trait of developed countries but also serves as an enabler for sustainable development of developing countries

Innovative framework for e-government adoption in Saudi Arabia: a study from the business sector perspective

E-Government increases transparency and im- proves communication between the government and the users. Providing e-Government services to business sector is a fun- damental mission of governmental agencies in Saudi Arabia. However, the adoption of e-Government systems is less than satisfactory in many countries, particularly in developing coun- tries. This is a significant factor that can lead to e-Government failure and, therefore, to the waste of budget and effort. One pertinent, unanswered question is what are the key factors that influence the adoption and utilisation level of users from business sector. Unlike much research in the literature that has utilised common technology acceptance models and theories to analyse the adoption of e-Government, which may not be sufficient for such analysis, this study proposes a conceptual framework following a holistic approach to analyse key factors that influence the adoption and utilisation of e-Government in Saudi Arabia. The developed framework, E-Government Adoption and Utilisation Model (EGAUM), was developed based on critical evaluation of several common models and theories related to technology acceptance and use including Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), in conjunction with analysis of e-Government adoption literature. The study involved 48 participating business entities from two major cities in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh and Jeddah. The descriptive and statistical analyses are presented in this paper and the results indicated that all the proposed factors have degree of influence on the adoption and utilisation level. Perceived Benefits, Awareness, Previous Experience, and Regulations & Policies were found to be the significant factors that are most likely to influence the adoption and usage level of users from business sector. Keywords: E-Government; E-Services; Saudi Arabia; Technology Adoption; Influential Factors; Users’ Intention; Business Sector Perspectiv

International Trade and Inequality

The impact of globalization on equality has become a serious concern for many countries. More evidence that challenges the theoretical prediction of positive impact of international trade on income distribution has increasingly become available recently. This paper addresses this subject, surveying the empirical findings on the impact of international trade on inequalities from various perspectives. The survey reveals that an increase in trade openness by developing countries appears to have contributed to narrowing the development gap vis-à-vis developed countries, while its impacts on income gap between developing countries are not clear. The impacts of increased trade or trade liberalization on within-country inequalities are mixed. In some cases, trade liberalization improved wage-inequality, but in some other cases, the opposite pattern was observed. Similar mixed patterns are found for regional inequalities. These mixed findings are consistent with the fact that theoretical predictions are also mixed. One reason for the mixed findings is the impact of other factors affecting inequalities, including labor market conditions, inflow of capital, and policy reforms. Government needs to implement appropriate policies to deal with the inequalities. Two of the most important are policies to promote human resource development and policies on income redistribution. The former improves quality of labor, with the support from a well-functioning and flexible labor market. The latter covers policies on social safety net or on tax system. The safety net pays some portion of adjustment costs borne by workers who are adversely e tax system (e.g., progressive and inheritance tax) helps distribute income more equally between the rich and the poor