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Is digital government facilitating entrepreneurship? A comparative statics analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Joana Costa

    (Universidade de Aveiro)

  • Luís Carvalho

    (Universidade do Porto)

Abstract

Promoting entrepreneurship has become a government priority worldwide. At the same time, digital technology has been embraced by governmental authorities, particularly focusing on digital infrastructure and online service provision. In this paper, we explore whether there might be a connection between both policy ambitions – notably at the local level. To do so, we empirically assess the relationship between different dimensions of government digitalization and entrepreneurial dynamics, using panel data from 278 Portuguese municipalities between 2014 and 2019, primarily drawn from the Portuguese survey on government ICT deployment (IUTIC) and analyzed through compared regression models. Results suggest an overall positive effect of digital government efforts on entrepreneurship. However, digital openness, a user-focus and transparency initiatives seem to matter more to entrepreneurship than internally-oriented digitalization measures. The results provide evidence of the positive effect of government digitalization on entrepreneurship, suggesting that the digital transition may generate relevant social returns for local economies and thus an additional mechanism for the promotion of smart and sustained growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Joana Costa & Luís Carvalho, 2022. "Is digital government facilitating entrepreneurship? A comparative statics analysis," GEE Papers 0164, Gabinete de Estratégia e Estudos, Ministério da Economia, revised Jun 2022.
    • Handle: RePEc:mde:wpaper:0164
    as

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    File URL: https://www.gee.gov.pt//RePEc/WorkingPapers/GEE_PAPERS_164.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    e-government; digital transition; entrepreneurship; local government;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H79 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Other
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups

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