E-Government readiness index: A methodology and analysis

E-Government has received significant attention as digital technologies transcend private businesses and serve as a basic source of transformation in government functions. One most notable project is the United Nations Public Administration Network (UNPAN) that assesses the e-Government readiness of the 192 member nations according to a quantitative composite index involving website assessment, telecommunication infrastructure, and human resource endowment. However, the UNPAN index, though rich in depth and breadth of data collection, relies on a method that is a simple mathematical average of the values of the variables measured. This paper revisits the UNPAN index and proposes alternative indices based on principal components analysis (PCA). Using the UNPAN survey data, four different versions of the index are presented and the resulting rankings of the nations are examined vis-à-vis the existing ranking. The theoretical and policy implications of the proposed methodology and its results are discussed.

► We focus on measurement and analysis of e-Government readiness and develop a set of e-Government readiness indices.
► We build upon the United Nation's current index and develop new indices based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA).
► We provide guidelines and statistical justifications for index composition, weighting scheme, and application.
► Our study has implications for policy making and contributes to other similar index construction exercises.