Economic Planning: Time to Reconsider?

Abstract

Together with the collapse of what was once called the socialist system, was also the collapse of research on any other form of economic organisation of a society. Administrative methods for running an economy, with economic planning foremost among them, were inseparably linked to the collapse of the socialist system and, in essence, were held responsible for it. Thus, although the dominant economic paradigm has once again failed to deliver in recent years, the research for other methods fell into oblivion along with the system they were attached to. This work represents an attempt to reconsider the potential of economic planning as a means of organizing an economy at various levels, at various degrees and in various environments. I shall try to illustrate that the blame for the collapse of different socialist systems should not have fallen on the systemic deficiencies of economic planning but, instead, on the political institutions responsible for its application. In addition, I will stress that economic planning has been condemned by non-economic parameters and the application of wrong planning methods. In making this argument I hope to provide an angle through which the discussion of economic organisation can be opened to a broader scope of research.

Key words: Economic planning, Political economy, Comparative economic systems, Institutions.
JEL: P410, P500, P160, P170.