E-GOVERNMENT AND SMART GOVERNANCE AS MECHANISMS OF INSTITUTIONAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Institutional quality, understood as the reliability, transparency and accountability of public institutions, is a decisive condition for economic performance and public trust. Digital government is often promoted as a remedy for weak institutions, yet the mechanisms through which it works remain unevenly specified. This article examines how e-government and smart governance can improve institutional quality. Drawing on recent cross-national evidence on electronic government and corruption, on conceptual work on smart governance, and on the Worldwide Governance Indicators, the study develops an analytical account of three mechanisms: the reduction of administrative discretion through digital traceability, the expansion of citizen participation, and the strengthening of performance evaluation. The analysis shows that these mechanisms are conditional on the existing institutional environment. Using UN E-Government Survey data for Uzbekistan, the article argues that the gap between the strength of online services and the weaker human capital and telecommunications components points to where institutional reform must accompany technological investment. An analytical model linking goals, institutional capacity, digital tools, processes and evaluation is proposed. The study is conceptual and secondary-data based; its propositions require empirical testing.