e-Government initiatives can have a number of broader economic and societal benefits. For example, if they can reduce the cost of doing business (including the substantial costs imposed by corruption), they can thereby help support economic growth. e-Government may contribute to the improved functioning of economic sectors in which the government plays an important role, either as actor, such as in public financial management, or as regulator, such as in trade, commerce, banking and environmental protection.
The availability online of government content and services of value to individuals in their daily lives can drive the demand for Internet service, supporting, for example, the growth of Internet cafes. These cafes, which can be a primary method of accessing the Internet for the vast majority of citizens in developing countries, in turn can become e-Literacy centers for their communities. See Information Society Commission, Department of the Taoiseach, Ireland, “e-Government” (2003) pp. 13-15, 26-28. If e-Government programs offer businesses a less expensive means of complying with government regulations, those services can generate demand for Internet access, thereby creating market incentives for development of infrastructure.
e-Government initiatives often include components that directly expand Internet access. Kenya , for example, is using VSAT (Very Small Aperture Satellite Terminal) technology to establish public Internet access points at post offices, a branch of government that is normally available even in remote areas of the developing world. Such access points, managed by people who speak the local languages, may become ad hoc training centers for ICT, increasing e-Literacy and opening access to the full range of online services going well beyond e-Government.
Other benefits may ensue. e-Government initiatives can contribute to a synergistic relationship between the public and private sectors, by promoting the creation of small and medium enterprises that provide planning and implementation services to e-Government programs. e-Government can also contribute to raising the overall level of e-Literacy among the general population, furthering supporting the growth of e-Commerce.
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