Public sector innovation, e-government, and anticorruption in China and India

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Bibliographic Data

ID5830701
AuthorsAlfred M Wu (0000-0002-2689-6285, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy National University of Singapore Singapore), Yifei Yan (0000-0003-2833-5972, Department of Social Policy London School of Economics London UK, corresponding author), Lina Vyas (0000-0003-4377-2572, Department of Asian and Policy Studies The Education University of Hong Kong Hong Kong)
Year2020
Volume79
Issue3
Pages370-385
Publication date2020-07-30
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAustralian Journal of Public Administration (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0313-6647 • E-ISSN: 1467-8500
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1467-8500.12439
OpenAlexW3044276777
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited49

Both China and India are adopting information and communication technologies to facilitate openness and transparency in their governments, and hence reduce corruption. Distinctive from their traditional anticorruption approaches, is the innovative e-government approach an effective solution to corruption in these two large developing countries? This paper addresses the question through comparative in-depth interviews with 44 mid- or senior-level officials in the public sector in these two countries. The first study of its kind, our research shows that civil servants in both countries overall think positively about transparency and technology in reducing corruption. However, to what extent these innovative measures will be effective is conditional on various factors, such as political willingness, income inequality, and infrastructure readiness. What is worth noting is that the Chinese respondents were more positive regarding the role of transparency, whereas the Indian respondents were more positive about the role of technology, which may reflect the different facilitators of corruption and the constraints of anticorruption in China and India

Civil servants · Civil society · Language change · Openness to experience · Corruption and Economic Development · E-Government and Public Services · Taxation and Compliance Studies

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