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The Haves and the Have Nots : Civic Technologies and the Pathways to Government Responsiveness

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  • Mellon,Jonathan
  • Peixoto,Tiago Carneiro
  • Sjoberg,Fredrik Matias

Abstract

As civic life has moved online scholars have questioned whether this will exacerbatepolitical inequalities due to differences in access to technology. However, this concern typically assumes thatunequal participation inevitably leads to unequal outcomes: if online participants are unrepresentative of thepopulation, then participation outcomes will benefit groups who participate and disadvantage those who do not. Thispaper combines the results from eight previous studies on civic technology platforms. It conducts new analysis totrace inequality throughout the participation chain, from (1) the existing digital divide, to (2) the profile ofparticipants, to (3) the types of demands made through the platform, and, finally, to (4) policy outcomes. The paperexamines four civic technology models: online voting for participatory budgeting in Brazil, online local problemreporting in the United Kingdom, crowdsourced constitution drafting in Iceland, and online petitioning across 132countries. In every case, the assumed links in the participation chain broke down because of the platform’sinstitutional features and the surrounding political process. These results show that understanding howinequality is created requires examination of all stages of participation, as well as the resulting policy response. Theassumption that inequalities in participation will always lead to the same inequalities in outcomes is not borne outin practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Mellon,Jonathan & Peixoto,Tiago Carneiro & Sjoberg,Fredrik Matias, 2022. "The Haves and the Have Nots : Civic Technologies and the Pathways to Government Responsiveness," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10195, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10195
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Amy Antonio & David Tuffley, 2014. "The Gender Digital Divide in Developing Countries," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-15, October.
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