Economic planning

Economic planning is a term used to describe the long term plans of an incumbant government to co-ordinate and develop the economy. Economic planning is commonly a feature of big government as it usually involves increased spending on things such as public work schemes and government programmes.

Given the economic woes due to the collapse of international trade on a vast scale in the early 1930s caused by tariff restrictions severally among nation states, economic planning became quite fashionable as a solution among what became the belligent powers of World War II.

Economic planning can include:

• Discussing the long term future of economic growth, and ways of achieving said growth.
• Meeting social partners such as trade Union leaders to co-ordinate government planning in relation to these partners.
• Organising committees to create reports and offer reccomendations for future economic expansion.

Critics, who generally tend to be pro Free-market argue that the only economic planning that government should engage in is providing a framework for the economy to operate, such as sufficient infrastructure and the maintenance of law and order