Do natural resources influence E-government in developing countries? Effects and transmission channels

E-government has taken a prominent place in the political and economical debate. Despite the vast non-consensual literature, on the effects of natural resources, very little is known about the effects of these resources on the development of e-government. This study aims to fill this gap by analyzing the effect of natural resources on the development of e-government in a panel of 121 developing countries over the period 2003–2021. Through several empirical approaches, our results show that, on average, natural resource rents negatively affect the development of e-government. Distinguishing between different types of natural resources, we note that the negative effect of natural resources on the development of e-government remains, and the magnitude is more persistent for forestry, gas and oil rents. Furthermore, the mediation analysis suggests that the negative effect of natural resources on the development of e-government is influenced by trust in institutions, the size of the informal sector, corruption, and the quality of telecommunications infrastructures. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd