From Theory to Practice : Open Government Data, Accountability, and Service Delivery
Open data and open government data have recently attracted much attention as a means to innovate, add value, and improve outcomes in a variety of sectors, public and private. Although some of the benefits of open data initiatives have been assessed...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/410191559670657041/From-Theory-to-Practice-Open-Government-Data-Accountability-and-Service-Delivery http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31800 |
| Summary: | Open data and open government data have
recently attracted much attention as a means to innovate,
add value, and improve outcomes in a variety of sectors,
public and private. Although some of the benefits of open
data initiatives have been assessed in the past,
particularly their economic and financial returns, it is
often more difficult to evaluate their social and political
impacts. In the public sector, a murky theory of change has
emerged that links the use of open government data with
greater government accountability as well as improved
service delivery in key sectors, including health and
education, among others. In the absence of cross-country
empirical research on this topic, this paper asks the
following: Based on the evidence available, to what extent
and for what reasons is the use of open government data
associated with higher levels of accountability and improved
service delivery in developing countries? To answer this
question, the paper constructs a unique data set that
operationalizes open government data, government
accountability, service delivery, as well as other
intervening and control variables. Relying on data from 25
countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the paper finds a number of
significant associations between open government data,
accountability, and service delivery. However, the findings
suggest differentiated effects of open government data
across the health and education sectors, as well as with
respect to service provision and service delivery outcomes.
Although this early research has limitations and does not
attempt to establish a purely causal relationship between
the variables, it provides initial empirical support for
claims about the efficacy of open government data for
improving accountability and service delivery. |
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