E-services analysis of Union Digital Center (UDC) in Bangladesh A Digital Divide perspective

Abstract

In the modern era we always try to utilize our time more efficiently by minimizing the transaction cost. Nowadays it’s not a common  scenario in Bangladesh to wait in a long line for submitting a form for admission or job, and payments for utility services. Rather  people from remote area do it in online with the help of Union Digital Centers (UDC). Bangladesh government has initiated this project  to minimize hierarchy and hazards in traditional administrative procedure. We choose twenty-seven UDCs and fifty  respondents purposively for this study. As per theoretical framework and previous literatures there should be a combination of some  factors like infrastructure, individual conversion factors, capability set, and choice to successfully complete a task. In this present  research, researchers analyzed data through stata software. From empirical results of Multiple Linear Regression, we came to know  that infrastructures and training of service providers positive impact on the number of services provided by UDCs. It means the  number of services increased with the increase of infrastructures, for example, rooms, printers, computers. Furthermore, the more  trainings of service providers encourage the number of services. In some case, we found that despite having good training skills some  service providers cannot fulfill the capability set because of low infrastructure facility. On the other hand, service providers have some  other jobs reasonably they are less available in UDCs. Moreover, low level of literacy of service receivers also creates hamper in the  effectiveness of UDCs in providing services.