Social Sciences in China

Vol. 40, No. 4, 2019

 

How Information and Communication Technology Promote the Building of Clean Government: A Case Study of Two Local Clean Government Reforms in China

(Abstract)

 

Li Hui

 

In recent years, many studies have begun to explore the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in promoting clean government, pointing out that it will make government more honest. However, existing research pays more attention to the correlation between the two factors, and few studies analyze in depth and in detail what the key ICT mechanism is that promotes the construction of clean government. Our case study of two innovative local clean government reforms in China has found that the key mechanism is improving the availability of information. Specifically, the reforms included two interrelated mechanisms: reducing the information asymmetry between vertical levels of government and bridging information barriers between government departments at the horizontal level.

 

Keywords: ICT, clean government construction, anti-corruption, institutional innovation