Shedding light on transparency: A comprehensive study of state‐level transparency portals in Mexico

Abstract

AbstractThe growing demand for transparency and accountability on the part of citizens has positioned governmental electronic portals as crucial elements in the promotion of democracy and citizen participation. Mexico has devised an approach to assess the transparency of State Transparency Portals, yielding an annual indicator and ranking. The objective of this paper is to examine the influence of economic and political factors on the level of transparency of the governmental portals of the 32 Mexican states. After performing the relevant econometric analyses and the necessary tests to ensure the reliability and robustness of the results, it was found that factors such as population density, debt, unemployment and fiscal effort have a significant impact on transparency. States with a higher debt burden are more transparent and higher unemployment rates hinder government transparency. Several recommendations are offered to promote government transparency, strengthen accountability and improve the position of states in the ranking of State Transparency Portals.