Legal Mechanisms and Information and Technological Support for the Strategic Management of State Social Development

The paper analyzes the interdependence of the digital transformation of the public sector, the effectiveness of public governance, and the quality of legal institutions in the context of ensuring social progress. The level of social development of states was assessed based on the Social Progress Index, the state of digital governance was assessed using the e-Government Development Index and the GovTech Maturity Index, and the capacity of the legal system was assessed using the Rule of Law Index of the World Justice Project. The empirical base includes states for which complete statistical data for 2024–2025 are available. To verify the proposed provisions, a set of statistical methods was used, including Spearman's rank coefficient, Kruskal–Wallis criterion, least squares method, categorical regression modeling, and a number of diagnostic procedures. Particular attention was paid to identifying multicollinearity, checking the independence of residuals, and assessing the stability of the resulting models. The results showed a close and statistically confirmed relationship between the level of social progress, the development of digital governance and compliance with the principles of the rule of law. The most pronounced relationship with social progress was demonstrated by the indicator of the development of e-government. The legal quality of institutions is also characterized by a consistent positive impact. At the same time, the GovTech indicator turned out to be less stable and largely depended on the chosen specification of the regression model. The identified interregional differences confirm the unevenness of social development, but do not refute the general trend. The proposition that sustainable social progress is formed primarily as a result of the interaction of digital management capabilities with effective legal institutions is substantiated.