Productivity of Czech state administration with focus on IT technology and costs connected with use of modern technologies

• Thesis title in Czech: Efektivita složek české státní správy se zaměřením na IT technologie a náklady spojené s jejich využíváním.
• Thesis title in English: Productivity of Czech state administration with focus on IT technology and costs connected with use of modern technologies
• Key words: efektivita, státní úřady, státní správa, lokální, DEA, informační technologie, IT, digitalizace
• English key words: efficiency, government, local municipality, DEA, information technologies, IT, digitalisation
• Academic year of topic announcement: 2017/2018
• Type of assignment: Bachelor's thesis
• Thesis language: angličtina
• Department: Institute of Economic Studies (23-IES)
• Supervisor: Petr Pleticha, M.Sc.
• Author: hidden - assigned by the advisor
• Date of registration: 25.05.2018
• Date of assignment: 25.05.2018
• Date and time of defence: 08.09.2021 09:00
• Venue of defence: Opletalova - Opletalova 26, O105, Opletalova - místn. č. 105
• Date of electronic submission: 25.07.2021
• Date of proceeded defence: 08.09.2021
• Reviewers: doc. Petr Janský, M.Sc., Ph.D.

References

Bibliography
BRYNJOLFSSON, Erik & MCAFEE, Andrew. The second machine age: work, progress, and prosperity in a time of brilliant technologies. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, c2014. ISBN 978-0-393-23935-5.
BRYNJOLFSSON, Erik & HITT, Lorin M. Beyond Computation: Information Technology, Organizational Transformation and Business Performance. Journal of Economic Perspectives. 2000, 14(4), 23-48.
GORDON, Robert J. Is U.S. Economic Growth Over? Faltering Innovation Confronts The Six Headwinds. National Bureau Of Economic Research, 2012. Nber Working Paper Series.
GREGOR, Martin & ŠŤASTNÁ, Lenka. Public Sector Efficiency in Transition and Beyond: Evidence from Czech Local Governments, Applied Economics, 2015, 47(7), 680–699.
HALDANE, Andy. Productivity puzzles [online]. 2017 [cit. 2018-05-22]. Available online: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/speech/2017/productivity-puzzles.pdf?la=en&hash=708C7CFD5E8417000655BA4AA0E0E873D98A18DE

Preliminary scope of work

Research question and motivation
Nowadays, a big attention is paid on the modernization of all components of the economy and the state sector. The question is whether the funds spent on new technologies really improve productivity and how these transformations influence labour market. State administration can be affected by several complex and ineffective procedures (e.g. indicated by longer waiting times for citizens). Specific topic (compared to private sector) concerns a very problematic control of economical utilization of public resources. Government projects are often labelled as overpriced.

The paper would observe relationships among the investments in IT technologies of the Czech government and linked costs compared to changes in quantities in staff of particular departments, workload of clerks, and length of waiting times. We will be also concerned with research of subjective conviction among responsible workers.

The study would be primary based on publications of E. Brynjolfsson predicting positive development in almost all branches. On the other hand, R. J. Gordon and his piece of knowledge represent more moderate enthusiasm rising from establishment of new technologies. Findings of Czech researchers could be represented for example by papers written by L. Šťastná and M. Gregor, focusing on sector efficiency in Czech local government or hospitals

Contribution
The paper could be a small component of a gradually developing effort of effectiveness in Czech state administration where systems like websites with individual items of government budget or transparent overviews of public procurement are slowly established. These often provide gross data, hardly comparable and understandable for ordinary citizen.
Media are focused mainly on the most serious problems connected with corruption. Few resources present how technological changes affect allocation of working labour in the environment of Czech white collars and how to use IT during searching reserves in the government’s economic activities. (e.g. disregard of the request for refund value added tax by municipalities).

Methodology
Collecting of data would be pursued on behalf of the Free Access to Information Act. The sample of the state administration would be compiled from the municipalities with extended powers (“small districts”). These municipalities were charged for basic execution of state administration (issuing of various cards, registration in registers, decision making in administrative procedure). Offices handle with similar size of districts and tasks, nevertheless management and purchasing of IT technologies is conducted individually.

Combination of publicly accessible and questionnaire data would be processed by basic econometrical methods.
Other component would be a qualitative opinion form for staff. A comparison on an international scale is foreseen, with a particular attention to Estonia and Slovakia. Estonia serves as an example of a state promoting modern and progressive state administration. In the case of Slovakia, we focus on similarities and differences of a former member of the same state. Chosen countries are considered as small open economies with similar history.

Outline
The thesis would cover a presentation of the topic Productivity Puzzle, an explanation of the dataset and its collecting, intention of the questions, the results of the research, an evaluation, a comparison in international context and possible ways for improving productivity of Czech state administration.