Can digital government reduce the resource dependency? Evidence from method of moments quantile technique

Abstract

The conventional thinking states that pervasive government corruption may turn resource plenty in resource-rich countries into a burden. These issues may surface, particularly when the public sector uses conventional procedures. Based on this, the research looks at how the public sector's digitalization might aid in resolving this issue. Specifically, economic growth, trade openness, economic complexity index, public sector size, and the impacts of digitalization are assessed in relation to their reliance on natural resources for 16 nations that are vulnerable to the “curse of the natural resource” Furthermore, the moderating influence of digitalization on the link between the growth of the public sector and the resource curse is investigated. In this case, the years 1995–2021 are investigated using the CS–ARDL methodology, and the robustness of the results is evaluated using the Moments Quantile Regression method. The CS-ARDL approach's findings indicate that trade openness, public sector size, and economic progress all correlate with increased resource reliance. However, as the economy becomes more complex and digitalized, resource dependency declines. Additionally, it is demonstrated that the interaction term parameter between digitalization and the growth of the public sector is negative, indicating that digitalization within the public sector has the potential to counteract the growing reliance of the sector on resources.