Explaining the Underdevelopment of Rural E-Government: The Case of Romania

Abstract

The advent of information and communications technology led the public administration of many countries to step into a new era. During the last decade, an increasing number of researchers analysed the e-government performance of national governments, regions, and large cities. However, far less attention has been paid to villages and rural areas, probably because their e-government was not a prioritised target for national policies and, consequently, was not developing at the same pace. In fact, rural e-government is nothing but a part of e-government and should be included in e-government policies. However, from a practical point of view, rural e-government raises specific issues, especially in those society where the divide between cities and villages still clearly exists. E-government could significantly improve rural services, support economic development, and encourage citizen engagement. The goal of this research is to assess the rural e-government level in Romania by evaluating five core components: 1) security and personal data protection; 2) usability; 3) content; 4) type of services; and 5) digital democracy. The low scores obtained by the only two measurable components—usability and content—allow one to conclude that Romanian rural e-government is in its early stages. Based on some unexpected collateral conclusions, the authors offer suggestions for future researches and policy makers.