Dejan Ravšelj

University of Ljubljana, 

Faculty of Public Administration,

Ljubljana, Slovenia

E-mail: Dejan.Ravselj@fu.uni-lj.si

ORCID 0000-0003-0426-820X

E-government initiatives and economic growth in the EU member state

Sabina Hodžić

University of Rijeka,

Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management

Opatija, Croatia

E-mail: sabinah@fthm.hr

ORCID 0000-0002-4202-3548

Aleksander Aristovnik

University of Ljubljana, 

Faculty of Public Administration,

Ljubljana, Slovenia

E-mail: Aleksander.Aristovnik@fu.uni-lj.si

ORCID 0000-0003-1345-9649

Abstract. Nowadays, the digitalisation of all sectors, including public administration, has influenced the way people and government agencies interact through various digital platforms, that offer different public services and enable e-participation. Consequently, technological change has accelerated the economic growth of individual EU Member States. Therefore, the main objective of the paper is to analyse the impact of e-government initiatives (e-services and e-participation) on economic growth in the EU by comparing old and new EU Member States. The first research hypothesis is therefore that e-services and e-participation have a positive effect on economic growth. The second hypothesis is that e-services and e-participation have a greater effect in the new EU member states than in the old ones. By applying a panel data analysis to a sample of EU-27 Member States for the period 2003-2022, the empirical results confirmed both research hypotheses. Based on the results, several recommendations were made for policy makers to build a resilient digital economy in the EU.

Received: March, 2025

1st Revision: January, 2025

Accepted: March, 2026

DOI: 10.14254/2071-789X.2026/19-1/1

JEL Classification: H20, H83, O40

Keywords: digital government, e-services, e-participation, economic growth, panel data analysis, EU