The Relationship Between E-government and Corruption: an Empirical Analysis Using Panel Data

E-Government can be defined as the use of information and communication technologies by the government in order to work more effectively share information and deliver better services to the public. It is known that e-government applications strengthen accountability, increase transparency and efficiency of the government. Corruption is a highly complex phenomenon which rooted in bureaucratic and political institutions and their effects vary from country to country. Given the socio-economic conditions, political and institutional infrastructure and other factors, it is difficult to make a generally accepted definition of corruption, but in its narrowest definition, abuse of public power for private interests. It is known that corruption creates negative effects on the economic growth of the countries, tax structure, quality of public services, and the rule of law.In this context, the paper tests the effects of e-government on corruption via panel data analysis by using a large data set consisting of 193 countries belonging to the period 2003-2017. While examining the relationship between e-government and corruption, many control variables that may affect this relationship were taken into consideration. The empirical findings of the study show that e-government has a statistically significant and negative effect on corruption. Consistent with the common literature, the findings of the study emphasize that the increase in e-government applications reduces corruption.