Planning in the Internet Age

Planning in the Internet Age

This paper argues that economists need to start a proper discussion on the theory of planning. I also suggest some elements that the theory might contain, based on my practical experience as a government planner in the Greater London Authority and via my earlier consultancy work as a data analyst in corporate planning.

Paper English slides Russian slides

There are several reasons for such a discussion. First, it is necessary to dispel many widespread myths about planning, mostly generated by neoclassical economists whose purpose is to discredit it.

Second, technology has seen enormous changes since the last century, qualitatively improving processing power, communication speeds and data storage capacity, leading to innovations, such as the web, BI, and AI, all unheard of in the era of Soviet planning. These changes make it possible to conceive of innovations in the ‘technology of administration’ which transform its nature.

Third, there is growing evidence that the market is failing Russia in key areas, especially investment; actual growth at 1.8% falls well short of potential growth at 4.8%.

Fourth, and controversially, the paper argues that planning, conceived of properly, extends democracy and adds to freedom, provided it is organised to place key decisions in the hands of ordinary people.

The entry consists of the finalised paper which was published in Экономическое возрождение России №3 (61) 2019 (Ekonomicheskoye vozrozhdeniye Rossii, ‘Economic Revival of Russia’) №3 (61) 2019 as part of the proceedings of the Moscow Academic Economic Forum (MAEF), held in conjunction with the Russian Academy of Science and Moscow State University, April 18-19, 2019

 

About the author

Alan Freeman
Alan Freeman

Alan Freeman was a principal economist with the Greater London Authority from 2000 to 2011. He is now retired and lives in Winnipeg where he is co-director with Radhika Desai of the Geopolitical Economy Research Group (www.geopoliticaleconomy.ca). He taught economics for ten years at the University of Greenwich, England, and has in the past been a visiting Professor at London Metropolitan University, a Research Fellow of Queensland University of Technology, Australia and a research associate of the University of Kent in Canterbury. An active advocate for the arts, he is a board member of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Manitobans for the Arts, and Video Pool Winnipeg. He regularly publishes online at http://ideas.repec.org/e/pfr102.html. With Radhika Desai, he is co-editor of the 'Future of World Capitalism' book series and the Geopolitical Economy book series. With Andrew Kliman, he is coeditor of 'Critique of Political Economy' (COPE), an online journal of critical economics. He supports open access and publishes slides from his presentations on http://www.slideshare.net/alanfreeman777, as well as videos on https://vimeo.com/alanfreeman. The works published on the above sites, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are his own personal views. No imputation explicit or implicit may be drawn that these represent the views of any of the organisations in which he holds or held office. Alan Freeman can be contacted via this site

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