Factors Influencing the Use of Electronic Government Services in Brazil

Abstract

This paper explores the data from the Brazilian “ICT in households and enterprises Survey” in order to understand how the individuals' use of e- government services is related to the location of access to the internet and their usage capabilities. The research uses Amartya Sen's Capability Approach, with results indicating that for all social classes the use of e-government is strongly related to users' capabilities, expressed by their use of e-mail, e-commerce and e- finance and that its use is favored by home and workplace access to the internet over other alternatives, such as lan-houses and public telecentres. The paper also discusses its implications for public policy making.