E-government policies in times of crisis : engines of growth?

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate on the role of e-government in spurring the reorganisation of the public sector and broader economic development in a period when financial austerity reduces the public resources available to drive change. The overarching argument here is that in those settings where the policy makers have incorporated e-government into their action, the speed and breadth of new practices are shaped by the pre-existing administrative patterns and attitudes. An analysis of the current state of the Digital Agenda launched in 2012 by Italy’s bipartisan government reveals that by over-emphasising cost-cutting targets rather than transformational targets, the policy makers are thwarting the potential of e-government as an engine of growth and a driver of large-scale change