A Comparative Analysis of E-Government in Latin America: Applied Findings from United Nations E-Government Readiness Reports

Abstract

This chapter introduces the United Nations global e-government readiness reports, for which we serve as primary researchers, with particular focus on Latin America. The UN reports provide useful composite scores and rankings on 191 countries worldwide with respect to e-government, e-readiness, and e-participation, as well as highlighting best practices that have been identified throughout the world. In particular, the UN reports provide meaningful insights into the development of e-government in Latin America—facilitating comparative analysis between regions, as well as country comparisons within Latin America.Basing itself on the UN report, the chapter provides a comparative analysis of e-government in Latin America—both intra- and interregional comparisons—with the main objective of elevating e-government literature to a more quantitatively rigorous and sophisticated level. This chapter aims at introducing the UN report, outlining its main findings, and reporting how Latin America compares with the world in e-government readiness and development. It first outlines the background of the UN report, followed by the research methodology. Then it discusses the findings relevant to Latin America, with a brief conclusion on topics for future research and discussion.